


The Omega Job

by SchmetterlingMaus



Category: Leverage
Genre: Alpha Hardison, Alpha Nate, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Come Marking, Dubious Consent, Forced Heat, Hurt/Comfort, Knotting, Knotting Dildos, M/M, Masturbation, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Medical Kink, Multi, Non-Consensual Voyeurism, Omega Eliot, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team as Family, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-22 09:21:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 46,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13761060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SchmetterlingMaus/pseuds/SchmetterlingMaus
Summary: Eliot agrees to go off his suppressants to help his team with a job.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Am I really starting another story? YIKES!!!! >.<
> 
> I have way too many on my hard drive, but I thought maybe someone might be interested in this one. :)

“Gahh!” Eliot cupped his bleeding finger and pivot towards the sink. The forceful water stream stung his shallow cut. “Repeat that.”

Nate leaned against the counter; with false complacency. Eliot knew this behavior. He knew it god-damn well. The alpha leader wanted him to feel like the ball was in his court. Sophie, Hardison and Parker stayed opposite the counter, knowing their presence would be unwelcomed at the moment. 

“I need you off your suppressants for a job.” Nate placed a vanilla folder on the counter right next to the chopping board and veggies Eliot had been working on. 

Great. That was exactly what he heard. “No.”

Sophie’s dark eyes expressed a great deal of sorrow. “We know what we’re asking and we understand fully the complications it will cause you.”

“At least listen to the situation,” Hardison said. Eliot gestured for him to go on. Hardison nodded. “Okay, there is this clinic-“

“No. No clinics. I’m not getting checked into a building that has someone behind a bullet proof glass controlling electronic doors. Those places are run by traditionalists. I’m sorry Nate, but you’re going to have to call someone else in on this. I can’t be the bait,” he said. Medicines would be involved and lord knows what else. If he was a lesser man, he might shiver. 

“We will be right there the entire time. You will never be out of our sight,” Nate promised. This was the first time their alpha leader toed the line as a boss into the perilous territory called the mating dance.

Eliot’s lungs tightened making it difficult to breath as the implication hit. “You’re going to pose as my alphas? No… absolutely not and nothing is ever simple in a clinic. You have no idea the number of things that will go wrong. This mission will fall apart before it starts.” 

And worse… he’d be committed as a patient; labeled as a defiant omega. It would include treatments, therapy and rehabilitation. The doctors would demand a scheduled heat that they could observe. He’d be collared and disrobed. He’d be sitting on the floor or, degradingly stuck sitting on someone’s legs like a lapdog. There’d be semi-public knottings, after all, he was just an omega who needed to be comforted by his alpha’s knot and semen. Damn traditionalists.

Nate tapped his fingers on the folder. “Read this and if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

“I don’t understand. How bad can it possibly be? He’s our hitter; he’s always handled everything for us.” Parker’s thoughts were light.

“It’s complicated,” Sophie said, pulling her out of the room.

The stark, vanilla folder tarnished his sanctuary. With his inner peace disrupted, he set to work cleaning the kitchen. Every time he turned around, the folder blazingly pulled his attention. Setting the sponge to the side of the sink, he grabbed the folder and dragged it over, flipped it open and glanced over the pictures first before reading the paperwork.

Damnit! 

 

oOo

 

Nate clicked the remote, changing the picture on the screen. “Doctor Jamie Trent; alpha, fifty-three. He has three omega wives and twenty-two children. He’s a hard-core traditionalist. He owns two pharmaceutical companies that focus on medically induced heats. He was the doctor who signed the release papers on two separate nests. The omega in one nest died from a complicated heat and the second went missing. Both omegas were taken to the clinic due to being _difficult_. One nest I talked to said the heat was unplanned, the other said that they went specifically for an induced heat to help with bonding and mating issues. After looking into this farther, it came to my attention that seven more nests have complaints against the facility similar to what we’re seeing here.”

“The institute caters to training seminars, group therapy and private therapy. The institute will only house ten percent of their patients for longer than a week, as long as those patients exhibit severe post traumatic stress syndrome disorders.” Hardison leaned into his digital 3-D map, using a red pointer light to show the different aspects of the building. 

“What’s the game plan, here?” Sophie asked. Her carefully manicured fingers tapped only once on the glass table. The light from the 3-D map reflected in her large, brown eyes.

Nate leaned back in his chair with both hands on the armrest. “Hardison and I have enough information to trace the issues back to Doctor Trent, but we need hard evidence. The urine and blood samples have a zero trace to any chemical that would lead to the uncontrolled heat complications. What is Jamie Trent getting out of putting these poor families in this situation?”

“Nate…” Sophie started. 

The glass doors to their briefing room, swung open. Eliot strolled in. Even in their private sanctuary with no one to intimidate, Eliot couldn’t drop the alpha guise. Nate stilled. A large part of him wanted to sniff the air. He always wanted too when the omega was present, but he remained diplomatically neutral. 

Eliot wouldn’t smell like an omega. He never did; not in a car with the windows rolled up and not in a tiny office; not when he got home after spending hours at the gym and not after a particularly brutal standoff with their targets. Not even his guest bedroom smelled like an omega after Eliot spent a drunken night sleeping it off. 

“It will take a few weeks for the chemicals in my bloodstream to circulate out of my system,” Eliot dumped his duffle bag on the table; vials, syringes, pill packets, powders, and patches.

He was very aware their hitter had connections for the drugs… possibly not USD approved. No omega should be shooting unregulated and questionable liquids into their system. Over-the-counter beta sprays, shampoos and soaps were the milder items on the table. It was quite apparent that he wasn’t comfortable with his second gender.

Nate clasped his hands under his chin. This forced him to address the bigger issue. They were going into a situation as a team; however, they’d never personally seen Eliot in a submissive state, nor a heat. They’d all been in ruts throughout the years, but they had no intimate details on this vital element in their hitter’s life.

Parker picked up a hormone packet that looked, for the world, like a condom, given the circular, shiny wrapping. “What is this?”

“Drop it, Parker,” Sophie warned. “This is heavy, Eliot. Please tell me you don’t actually go this far to make sure you don’t go into estrous. It’s a beautiful and natural thing that an omega is blessed with.”

“I’m on board, but I swear Nate, you better have a backup plan for your backup plan. I want to be out of there within the week,” he growled, ignoring Sophie’s comment. He folded his arms, making his shirt stretch across his muscular chest.

Nate tapped his lips in thought before shifting his weight in his chair. “We’re exploiting your real nature, something you’ve been chemically trying to alter for years. I want you to think about what you’re giving up for this mission. You’ll be treated like a feral omega. The doctors at the institute will subject you to their treatment regulations.”

Parker shifted her weight in the chair and reached for something in the pile, but Eliot grabbed her wrist. “Knock it off Parker, unless you want to be sterile.”

Nate forced his eyes off Eliot’s narrow waist. Was their hitter sterile? It wasn’t his business. He made a conscious promise to stay out of his associates lives. But the animalistic part of his alpha brain that wanted to dominate and impregnate, wasn’t happy with the possibility that Eliot might be incapable of carrying.

“Is that a possibility?” Parker asked with a conniving smirk.

Eliot rolled his eyes and pushed a hand through his hair. “No. I’m not ready for this. I know how institutes work, but I also know that if someone innocent gets hurt and I could’ve stopped it, I won’t forgive myself.”

“You don’t have to always bear the weight of the world on your shoulders,” Sophie offered. Her tone stayed neutral and guarded, nothing short of Nate’s own caution with the hitter and their delicate situation.

“Can we get this stuff off the table before it leaps out and kills one of us?” Hardison scooted back, disgusted.

“Afraid you’ll lose your knot, Hardison?” Eliot teased as he shoved everything back into the bag. 

The hairs on the back of Nate’s neck bristled. Allowing their hitter to stay on hormones and suppressants was absolutely out of the question. Again, he found himself wanting to sniff the air. Except this time, his alpha was chomping at the bit to take ownership now that Eliot agreed to this. Luckily, the spark was so small, he could easily ignore it.

“Take a seat so we can discuss this,” Nate ordered. His tone didn’t suggest complete obedience, but Eliot still sat. 

There was nothing delicate about their omega. Their hitter kept a rigorous routine that gave him the surmountable body of an alpha. He’d have a chance to touch that body; a thought he never before allowed a glimmer of existence to build.   
Eliot stayed impartial. “Job details are your thing, Nate. I want to go in there and hit something.”

Eliot won’t like being touched. A few times, he allowed Parker to hug him and only once, that Nate could remember back on the snowy mountain, did Eliot hug Hardison. Their grumpy omega had a difficult time with physical affection.

“I want to make this as clear as possible; when we go in there, I’m going to be the lead alpha. Will you have a problem with being scent marked and calling me alpha?” Nate wanted to lay all the real possibilities on the table. The cons didn’t always work as planned. Problematic cons have left them in bad shape more than once.

Eliot’s eyes narrowed for a second before he relaxed. “Don’t fall in love with this omega-routine old man. Once we’re done here, I’ll be back on my blockers and suppressants.”

Nate refused to be distracted, though it was strangely endearing. “When was the last time an alpha knotted you?” 

Eliot’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. His nostrils flared; agitated. “Make it up. I’ll go along with it.”

Nate studied their omega. Every part of him whispered that this wasn’t a good idea. They depended on Eliot’s special skills. Making their hitter vulnerable meant that their roles would be reversed. 

He was going to Hell. He truly was, because he had to drag his thoughts back from inappropriate places. The truth of the matter was, he’d always gotten hard at the thought of taming Eliot. Not at first. But the more he spent time with their hitter and watched how versatile he was in all their cons, he’d grown a deep appreciation for what Eliot brought to the table. 

“The devil is in the details, Eliot. Give me your hands.” Nate placed both hands on the glass table, palms up. He needed to know their resident omega trusted him in every aspect.

The tension thickened. Seconds passed before Eliot finally dropped his hands, palm down into his. “We make up the details as we go along. That’s always been our company motto.”

Nate closed his fingers; firmly trapping Eliot’s hand. The omega shifted his shoulders ever so slightly and kept his fingers curled so their palms couldn’t rest completely flat. The omega’s trust was only surface. Maybe being this guarded was what kept him alive so long without an alpha or nest. 

“This game’s a little weird, Nate.” Eliot tugged again.

Nate tightened his hold. “When were you knotted last?”

Eliot licked his lips and glared. “It’s not important.”

“You’re wrong. This is very important. When we get to the clinic, the medical team will want to give you a physical. A blatant lie will risk the mission,” Nate said.

Eliot’s fingers twitched against his palm. The omega fought not to fidget. “I went into heat once, when I was eleven. It lasted three days, but I was never…” 

The answer trailed off with the smallest of tick at the edge of his omega’s eyes. This was a sensitive subject. Their hitter tried to pull back; to retreat into his tough, emotionless persona. Nate didn’t allow it, but Eliot didn’t stop trying to tug free from his grip.

“Never?” Parker asked, more to the room than Eliot, as if anyone could verify this as a fact. “That’s not something an omega can get away from, right?”

“Well, it’s not like I went to school for this stuff, but physically omegas need alpha protein to keep things legit in their system, you know.” Hardison now leaned forward with his arms crossed on top of the table. 

“It’s not impossible. Those early education classes hold back on details, but enough suppressants and the right ones, you never feel the desire.” Eliot hissed. 

“And you’re happy with this?” Sophie asked; her concern evident. The team’s attention slowly shifted into private, unfocused conversations. “An omega needs an alpha’s ejaculation, even if it’s just for the hormonal balance in the pheromones. Vitamins can’t replicate this.”

Eliot’s jaw tightened. It didn’t save the blush from spreading across his cheeks. He didn’t boast about his sexual conquests, but it was clear he didn’t pursue anyone based on his omega instincts. “I said I would help. I didn’t realize this would end in an interrogation.”

“We’re hitting the Arlene Restoration Clinic, which record shows you had a very short stint with,” Nate said. He gently ran his thumb in circles on top of the omega’s hand drawing Eliot’s attention.

Their hitter’s eyes widened. His pupils dilated. He didn’t smell like fear or agitation, but he clearly felt it. “Why are we hitting that clinic?” 

“Eliot Spencer, age eleven, brought in due to first heat. Hospitalized at Arlene Restoration Clinic for approximately six hours. Hostile to physicians and nurses. Treatment constantly refused. Forced knotting scheduled, but patient goes missing.” Hardison read from the file on his open laptop. His fingers tapped lightly on the keys. “Ahhh man. They even have a kid Eliot picture. So cute.”

“I want to see!” Parker leaned across Sophie, grabbing the edge of Hardison’s computer to drag it closer. 

“They stuck me in a transfer, that’s why I wasn’t there.” Eliot tried to pull free from Nate’s grip. Definitely agitated, but with no scent defining his emotions, it was still difficult to tell if this was leading into the dangerous, hit first and ask questions later territory that Eliot was fond of. 

“That’s a lie,” Parker said. Her eyes darkened and Nate glanced at Sophie who immediately reached over and patted her arm.

“It’s okay, Parker. People lie when they don’t want to discuss painful situations in their life,” Sophie said. Parker finally nodded, but Eliot was pissed about being the center of this.

“You were never released. You disappeared, which is fine, but the clinic has an eight month waiting period that we think we can quicken by using your real name,” Nate continued.

Eliot jerked back so hard, that Nate was forced to let him go. “Jesus. That’s why it has to be me.”

“You can still refuse. There’s nothing on the line,” Nate said. If they walked away from this now, it would save all of them from the stress that would accompany what was coming. 

“Except the exploitation of the omegas still stuck in the clinic.” He shuddered and caught himself when he realized his eyes drifted down towards the table. If it was omega habit or the part of their hitter that saw logic before the fight, he couldn’t tell. “I said I’m in.”

“We need to deal with a minor glitch in our setup. I can make the paperwork, falsify computer records, government claiming records, doctor visits, past clinic records, but I can’t fake the actual claiming bites or…” Hardison trailed off.

Eliot glared. “Or what?”

“Or the fact that you don’t smell like the rest of us. I mean, even a troubled omega would show signs that a nest attempted to subdue him,” Hardison said.

“Easy fix.” Nate pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it at Eliot. 

His hitter caught it, but didn’t look so off-guard. He knew what was coming, how to play this game, but defiant he remained. “What do you want me to do with your clothes?” 

“Wear them instead of your own. You should probably start sleeping in our beds too.” The more he thought about it, more details took light.

“Nah man. I draw the line on crawling into your beds, especially Hardison. Don’t think for a second that I don’t know you take those crackers to your room so you can eat in your bed.” Eliot glared at the hacker before drawing an unsteady hand through his long hair.

Hardison looked up from his keyboard, holding Nate’s attention. “What about claim marks?” 

“No biting. It messes with an omega’s head. I might be pretty messed up from everything I’ve done as a retrieval expert, but I refuse to let you dose me with your alpha pheromones.” Eliot’s voice raised a notch, determined to be heard. “You said it only has to appear like you attempted to tame me. Take me out and beat me around, or mark me with a belt, I don’t care, but the biting is a no go.”

“Are you opposed to kissing, nuzzling, a small amount of cuddling, pet names, touches, collars, leashes, spankings?” The list could go on, but Nate stopped. 

Eliot’s face was pink, but there was no doubt that something in that list had made his pupils dilate. So he was an omega that didn’t object to everything. Was it the kissing? Hopefully a little spanking….

Instead of answering, Eliot walked straight out of the office, taking Nate’s shirt, but forgetting his duffle bag of suppressants. 

“Nate, do you think Eliot can deal with this?” Sophie asked.

“I think we should pick something up at the hospital gift shop. It makes people feel better. Like a stuffed animal or something…” Parker offered.

“I think we need to get rid of his bag of crap before he comes back,” Hardison offered. He stood and the rest of the room stood too.

 

oOo

 

The knock wasn’t as commanding as one would expect from a headstrong, domineering, omega. Nate sat his reading glasses down on top of his book and rolled out of bed. He could already feel the effects of his Irish Whisky making his blood as slow as his brainwaves, but the knock was distinctly there. Not something he imagined.

There was no real defining scent on the other end, but his home was secure. Hardison was still downstairs messing with the computers. His house guest was a live-in about eighty percent of the time. 

What he didn’t expect was Eliot, who was also a live-in guest about sixty percent of the time. He stood there wearing Nate’s shirt. His broadness made it stretch over his chest and shoulders. It was the spooked look in his eyes that got to Nate. He stood to the side and Eliot dragged his feet as he entered the room.

He didn’t close the door, not wanting his hitter to feel trapped. Eliot stood between the bed and the wall. There was a great deal of space, but a bedroom really served only one purpose so the bed was large and the center of focus. Eliot played with his hands as if he wasn’t sure what else to do with them.

“What if they know I’m not actually claimed?” Eliot asked.

Nate fisted his hands to keep from reaching for Eliot. He wanted to pull his hitter into a hug. Not that Eliot ever needed comforting. If he did, it wasn’t the team he went too. They all had personal lives that remained discreet, but right now, he wanted to be their hitter’s rock. 

“Eliot, take off a few things and get into bed.” Nate kicked off his slippers and slid back under the covers but flipped them open in invitation. 

The omega just stood there, looking dumbfounded for a second before grabbing the bottom of his top and pulling it over his head. He wore a black tank top underneath the shirt and long, cotton pajama bottoms. He slid into bed a little less graceful and situated himself, so he could watch the alpha whose bed he was in. In the years Nate had known the hitter, he’d never seen Eliot look so small and insecure. It didn’t help that his hands were folded up against his chest, like he was trying to stay hidden. 

Nate reached forward, slowly so the hitter could gage his movements, and he pushed the omega’s hair from his face. His blue eyes watched with a great deal of distrust. “I’m not going to lie about the unsurmountable factors that can switch our game in seconds, but if you trust me and the team, we’re not going to let you out of our sight.”

Eliot’s eyes narrowed, briefly. “I don’t want you there when they do the prerequisite exam.”

“It’ll be safer for you if we were. Something is happening to omegas at that clinic and despite your special skills, you could still fall victim to whatever their methods of control include,” Nate countered. He brushed another strand of hair behind Eliot’s ear and his hitter surprised him by leaning ever so slightly into the touch. It was a barely there movement and once he relaxed, he was again nearly out of Nate’s comfortable reach.

Eliot licked his lips and dropped his eyes downward, embarrassed. “I’ve been in this situation before, Nate. I’m telling you, I don’t want you there when they start to poke and prod. It’s not pretty. I’m not… I’m not going to be in the best of minds. I might- it might get ugly.”

“This isn’t a compromise, kid. Our hands are tied once we step into one of those exam rooms. I’m not going to judge you for it and I know our crew won’t either. We’re a family, be it a little backwards, but still a unit.” 

Eliot’s eyelids fluttered shut for a second. “I haven’t been treated like an omega for decades. I don’t even know how I should behave.”

“Doctor Jamie Trent is our mark. As long as you don’t get us all quarantined, you can behave however you want.” It wasn’t the smartest promise, but this time when Eliot closed his eyes, he didn’t seem as disturbed.

Nate adjusted his position, so he could continue pushing his fingers through his hitter’s hair and Eliot’s shoulders went soft, compliant with sleep. His breathing evened out and it became apparent that his hitter was doing exactly what he said he wouldn’t do, sleep in a teammate’s bed. This was good. The more Eliot smelled like them the better. 

He closed his eyes too, letting his hand rest in the space between them. 

Eliot was gone when he woke up. 

 

oOo

 

“His scent is changing. It’s very slight at the moment, but it’s there.” Sophie ended that sentence with a sip of her coffee. 

It’d been two days since Eliot stated he was giving up the suppressants. That same night, he came to Nate’s bed. That one single night with the omega now made the bed feel empty without him. As for scent, Eliot wasn’t one to come up and hug anyone, or even stand in someone’s personal bubble, so he hadn’t noticed a change in scent yet. In fact, the hitter hadn’t even been staying at the house. 

“You’re concerned,” Hardison said, openly reading the emotions Nate thought he hid pretty well. 

Nate shrugged. Yes. He had a lot of concerns, because Eliot had always been their best way out of a bad situation. No matter how bad it was, how much was stacked against them, Eliot was always the best way out. The man could fight anything, including his own omega instincts. They had no idea how much the omega in Eliot would alter this one fact they relied on.

“Do you have a way for us to get past the security doors in case of an emergency?” Nate asked instead. He didn’t need to bog them with everything that plagued his mind; one of those being the lost puppy he saw in Eliot’s eyes. 

Hardison took a long drag on his orange soda before setting it on the table and tapping his fingers across his laptop. “I’m working on a few things here, Nate. We need to find out how we’re going to bring our electronics in when the place has strict security guidelines.”

“That’s never been a concern,” Nate said.

Eliot shoved his way through the office door. There was no swagger in his step. His hair, though washed was damp and uncombed and he had dark circles under his eyes. He held a cardboard tray of coffees and though it was a pleasant gesture, he glared at them, daring any of them to saw a word. Unfortunately for them, that look didn’t offer a list of words that would set their hitter off. 

“We’re going over the security systems for the con.” Nate informed as he took one of the cups from the tray. The hot smell of fresh coffee perforated the air, dominating all other scents. Pity. He wanted to see if he could sense what Sophie had observed.

“If we had someone poised as a nurse to get to the nurse station we might be able to—” Hardison started.

“No, won’t work. We need all hands on deck. We go in as a nest. We watch each other’s back,” Nate said. He paused with his lips on the lid and for one very brief second, pondered the possibility of Eliot poisoning them. It was laughable. He’d never met a more loyal watch dog, but now they were making their best fighter into a breeder and that could very well change Eliot’s loyalty in a flash. 

“We’ve never put all our people in one basket. We’ve never done that before.” Hardison argued with his hands, emphasizing each word with a jab at the air.

“You’re forgetting the biggest change to the dynamic,” Nate countered. 

Eliot sat his cup down. His pupils were wide, and his nostrils flared. He was pissed. “Yeah, me. Why are we acting like this is the elephant in the room when it’s not supposed to change anything about the team?” 

Their grumpy hitter stood cautiously towards the far side of the long table, closest to the door. He looked exhausted and for the first time in his life, flighty. He glared at all of them with his arms crossed and legs parted, defensive.

“Are you feeling different?” Parker asked.

“No.” Eliot growled. It was clearly a lie. 

Hardison went back to explaining their best laid options, but Nate found his attention drifting towards Eliot. Their hitter nodded along as he listened, but his eyes kept sliding back to the door… almost as if he was uncomfortable being there. 

Eliot spent too much of his morning quiet. When they broke off to complete their different tasks, Eliot went into the kitchen. The sound of bowls and the whisk, plates and silverware, made his apartment lively, but there was no ignoring the angry way things were placed about. 

“Hey man, I don’t want to tell you your job or nothing, but Eliot doesn’t sound too happy,” Hardison said right before pulling his headphones on. 

Nate stayed intent on ignoring it, but pans clattered, followed by a dangerously low growl. It pulled him from his chair and into the kitchen. Eliot was rearranging the pots, then pulled the dishrag from his shoulder and tossed it. 

“Nothing’s right. I can’t do this.” Eliot went back to stirring a bowl on the stove, careful not to look at him.

Nate leaned against the island. What did one say to an omega who tried so hard to be alpha? “What feels wrong at the moment?”

“The cream isn’t cooling right. The dish burnt and we’re out of parsley. How the fuck do you run out of parsley in a kitchen like this? I know you and Hardison don’t come down here at midnight to dump parsley over your snacks. This is ridiculous.” Eliot jerked away from the stove and stuck his hand under the running facet. 

Everything inside Nate screamed to approach with caution. He moved to Eliot’s side, close enough that their shoulders could touch. It took him a moment to realize that nothing in the kitchen contributed to what he smelled. With Eliot’s back still to him, he sniffed the air. 

His scent wasn’t strong, but he still found it alluring. So much so, that parts of his anatomy stood up and took notice. He turned his full attention on the hand Eliot held under the water. Surface burn, though it probably still ached.

“We can put this con on hold another couple days.” It wasn’t ideal, but neither was watching their hitter fall apart.

Eliot turned the facet off and shook his hands dry before grabbing a clean paper towel. “I can handle this Nate. I’ve handled worse.”

“That might be true, but you have something new to consider. This is the first time you’ve been off your medications. Things are going to happen in the clinic, things that will be in the hands of the medical professionals. There is a strong chance that while we’re here, you’re going to be touched in ways you haven’t had to deal with in the past. Without your suppressants, there is no net to fall back into when certain feelings—”

Eliot huffed and shifted his weight ever so slightly. “Nate, I’ve handled some pretty trying situations and made it through. I can deal with this.”

“How have you been sleeping, lately?” Thank God, some of his training with the agency involved psychology and within that, the behaviors of different secondary genders. It wasn’t a sure point when dealing with criminals who made it their life to outwit the system, but at the moment, Eliot wasn’t all that difficult to read. 

Eliot took a longer sip of his coffee. It bought him enough time to think, something Nate was fully aware the hitter needed. “Sleeping’s been a little difficult lately. Apparently there are some effects to being off the suppressants that I hadn’t fully gauged the importance of until now.”

“You’re feeling overwhelmed?” Nate supplied.

“Everything has intensified. I feel like I can actually taste the air, Nate. Do you know what it’s like to have some biological response to a freaking scent? It’s…”

Nate kept his composure as he leaned against the counter, giving Eliot his space. He knew that feeling well, but puberty gave a person time to adjust to their gender, something his hitter didn’t do. “There is no easy way to get past this part of the detox.”

Eliot licked the side of his lips. “Yeah.”

“Stay here tonight. You already have the guest room, but if you…” anything he said at this point could have Eliot walking straight out the door to prove something to the team. “If you would like, you can sleep in my bed, with me. No touching. That way if you start to feel worse, I’m right there. You don’t have to deal with this alone.”

Eliot bobbed his head, suddenly fixated on his creations boiling away on the stove. With no real answer, Nate watched a second longer. With the tension alleviated in his hitter’s shoulders, Eliot moved with ease around the kitchen. 

Nate slid back into the office with Hardison and managed a few more hours on his own personal research. By dinner, the atmosphere remained strained. Eliot fiddled with everything on the table before he let them sit down, then was back and forth from the table to the kitchen, grabbing food, refilling the salt and pepper, bringing more napkins until the tasks became miniscule and only time consuming, yet they knew better than to openly judge it.

Every time Eliot walked past him, his scent hit him anew. It was such a perfect smell and he sucked it down until Sophie nudged him. 

Sophie leaned in when Eliot walked out of the room again. “Do you think we should force him to sit down and eat? He’s sort of mother henning right now.”

“No way, man. Last time I tried to detour a behavioral trait, he was this close to smashing my face in.” Hardison answered instead. “He doesn’t want to know when he’s behaving like an omega.”

“Oh! He knows!” Parker huffed with humor, again misreading the room. It broke the strain as they started laughing. 

When Eliot walked in and saw them reaching for food and lightly teasing Parker, he finally sat down. Nate didn’t instantly feel relief, but he went about grabbing his portion of the food and the room was chill when only Eliot quietly watching them as he ate. It was the way he sat though, on the edge of his chair, feet flat and spaced as if he were ready to knock the chair back and run at any minute. 

Or fight, which would be more logical for their hitter. 

He didn’t see Eliot for another couple of hours. The kitchen was clean, the stove was off. The dimmer light above the sink was on in case anyone needed something during the night. He went to his room and flipped on the bedside light. 

The knock on his door was hesitant this time. He moved across the room and answered the door. Eliot still smelled like the rich things he cooked. The problem was, freshly showered and with hair still dripping dry, the omega carried that smell over the shampoo, body wash and whatever else he put on his body. This was Eliot’s scent, a garden of spices; lavender and chamomile with sun warmed leather.

Nate stepped out of the way and motioned for Eliot to come in. The omega silently stood a moment longer before entering his room, pulling his t-shirt over his head and dropping it on the desk chair, then falling into bed. Tonight, Hardison was still here with Parker, watching a movie. The sounds from downstairs, though muffled, added to the serenity of his living arrangement. 

Eliot practically buried his nose in the extra pillow. “I didn’t think this would happen so quickly. It’s not like I can’t fake any situation for a con, but to actually feel like an omega… All these scents make me want to vomit.”

All the scents…. Except the one he had his nose buried against? 

Nate knew better than to point that out just yet. He closed the door behind him and crawled back into bed. They were less than a foot apart now and he didn’t have to raise his noise into the air to smell Eliot. At least it wasn’t a heat scent.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I can't believe there is a niche for this story. I appreciate all the kudos and the notes! <3 <3 <3 Hope this isn't too slow.

Eight days left on the countdown before they’d be walking through the front doors of the clinic. In eight days, he’d be posing as a troubled omega and the group of alphas he’d sworn to protect would be posing as his superiors. 

He huffed. 

The whole thing seemed ludicrous.

What trained professional would be ignorant enough to possibly believe these four alphas, with dominant beta personality traits, had the ability to apprehend and contain a skilled combatant for any amount of time?

“But that’s not one-hundred percent true, is it?” 

His reflection stared back at him, looking worse for wear. After all, he did allow his conscious to bond with these unruly, half-witted, mentally fragmented alphas. 

He didn’t want to think about the con. He didn’t want to think about the clinical hands that would touch him. He didn’t want to think about the equipment that would be used to conform his very independent nature.

In eight days, he was supposed to be utterly clean of the chemicals he’d taken for nearly a decade in a half. He lied to the team, letting them believe he handed everything over. He wanted to put all his faith in Nate, but the alpha had no idea what he was asking.  
He had no idea what it meant to lose a large conscious part of his humanity and hand his wellbeing completely to another much stronger human. 

No quantity of chemical combinations would give him alpha strength. No weight training and no combat training would make him physically stronger. He had to stay a step ahead.

Despite his strong desire for self-preservation, his guilt remained. He let Nate believe he gave everything up. It wasn’t true. 

He kept AlpFen873C and BondEXC7821 packets; both were at the highest doses in his bloodstream and both were chemicals peddled only on the black market. These two drugs were an omegas best friend when said omega was out playing Ranger with the army and later working as a retrieval specialist. The media caught on roughly two decades too late to effect the any sales. Despite the public announcements warning against the omega uprising, the police couldn’t track the intricate line of buyers and sellers back to the production labs. 

Nate trusted him. Needed him to get them into the clinic for the con to work.

Today. 

He’d go off them today.

It’d be the equivalent of jumping out of an airplane without a parachute. Done that and survived. How difficult could this be? The torture would be similar. His psyche would be challenged. 

 

oOo

 

He draped his towel over the shower rod and walked into his bedroom. A clean pair of boxer briefs made him feel preserved, in some bizarre fashion. How strange it was to be off the medication. He couldn’t tell if it was a trick of his conscious, but his skin felt more sensitive especially to the fabric he wore to shield the telltale signs of his second gender.

First day had been a charm. Almost.

Second day, there was a slight tremor under his skin. He stretched his hands, trying to tense the muscle until the tremor stopped. It didn’t. Fuck.

The thin, imperceptible wire of chemical dependency tugged at the fine nerves under his skin. This small discomfort didn’t compare to some of the more excruciating torture methods he’d survived. This was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

But _nothing_ made him unbelievably dehydrated from the continuous sweating.

 _Nothing_ made every goddamn nerve in his complicated neurological system twitchy.

 _Nothing_ made him acutely conscious of every alpha that walked by his apartment door. And if he smelled them then those alphas could smell him in turn. His senses were no longer blocked. 

He shook his head and swallowed a couple pain killers. His lower back ached like he had the flu. 

 

oOo

 

The thick academic omega psychology books were dog-eared and highlighted courtesy of Sophie. She hit the nail on the head with the PTSD and the central alpha-personality disorder. Nate flipped through the third book in the stack.

These weren’t issues his first omega suffered from, so the information left him overwhelmed, like he should’ve been studying these books years ago and now was cramming for a test. The problem was significantly more complicated than a letter grade on a piece of paper. They were dealing with a real distraught omega. An omega that happened to be important to their wayward family.

“Eliot’s here!” Parker called up the staircase.

Nate fumbled the books on his bed, feeling like a teenager with his hands caught down his pants. The guilt was irrational. These books were only to help understand what the doctors were going to see when they met their hitter and what method of treatments would plausibly be used. 

… the small voice in the back of his head whispered that this was unethical. 

Eliot trusted the team, trusted his leader, not to manipulate his omega biology. But was it manipulation if Nate planned to use these techniques to keep firm control on the circumstances; that situation being Eliot’s strong revulsion towards his second gender. A revulsion that, in the end, could cause the omega to become reckless after the intense therapy sessions ended.

He dropped the books under his bed in case Eliot chose to sleep in his room again. His possessive side hoped that’d be the case. It’d been a couple days since he’d seen the hitter. He even stopped to preen in the mirror, something he had done more than enough times while courting Sophie. 

He made it halfway down the stairs before he smelled omega pheromones. And DAMN! if they didn’t smell delicious. So fucking edible. 

His hitter had taken his spot on the stool, hands both clasped around the girth of the coffee mug as if that would ground him. His dark, freshly washed hair was pulled into a messy manbun that allowed wisps of hair to frame his face. The skin under his eyes were dark and sunken. He hadn’t been sleeping properly and from his glazed eyes and the pallor in his skin, proper eating might be an issue too. 

“Your staring.” Eliot’s eyes narrowed in challenge. He sat with his shoulders hunched. The alpha-tension that kept him so firmly in character was currently gone, but he was sure Eliot would still fight if he felt it necessary.

Nate gave his best comforting smile, a smile he used a thousand times in a thousand different ways when he knew the situation wasn’t as promising as he alleged. “It’s been a couple days, and no one has heard from you. We’re just glad you’re doing okay.”

It was apparent he _wasn’t_. Even Eliot knew he wasn’t, because something flickered in his eyes at the statement. His hitter’s jaw tightened, and he nodded with false approval at the vague statement.

“Our paperwork is in review. I was warned that the appraisal period is usually a couple of months.” Nate informed the group as he took his place in front of the screen. 

Eliot stood, running his hands through his hair. “A couple of months? Nate, I thought this was next week!”

He didn’t say it. He didn’t have to. Very few situations scared Eliot, but the fear was clearly there for this circumstance. He didn’t want his heat.

“Our consultation is in a few days. I’m not concerned about a waiting list. A few of the doctors from your childhood are still on staff and they remember you well. You left a lasting impression during that visit.” It was a stupid attempt at humor.

Eliot sunk lower into his chair, staring at his drink. The brew was fresh. The dark, caffeinated scent wafted in the air, but their hitter didn’t raise the glass to his lips and he didn’t loosen his death grip on it. 

There wasn’t a good time to prod the feral omega, but he couldn’t put it off either. “Eliot, we have to talk about every scenario the team might go through; one of those being the high possibility of a heat.”

Eliot huffed. It was a bitter sound. “I’ve been on some pretty heavy suppressants for so long, I think my reproduction system is chemically burnt. I won’t go into a heat.”

That caught Nate off-guard. It also pissed him off. Who the hell would help someone chemically destroy their body? “You realize when we’re in the clinic, they’re going to exam you and possibly see this. They’re going to ask how it got that far.”

“How _did_ it get that far?” Parker asked, fully naïve that this was extremely personal. Eliot glared at her in response. It didn’t make her back down. Instead, she leaned across the table to get a better view of him. “Seriously! I mean, you know people. You know a lot of people! How did you do it?” 

“Eliot, you need to move back in with me until this is over.” Nate got the wrath of Eliot’s full attention. Maybe his hitter didn’t realize how much of an omega he currently smelled like and that the scent begged for alpha attendance. It wasn’t a heat, but it wasn’t as neutral as an omega not in heat should smell.

“Please! Please confirm right now that this isn’t an alpha order coming straight from alpha headquarters.” Eliot pointed pointblank at Nate’s crotch. His hand had a slight quiver to it.

“It’s an order coming from years of friendship. You might not go into heat, but you have the strong scent of a fully viable mate.” Nate kept his face neutral. In turn, he also had to keep his emotions neutral. If Eliot objected to his order, he’d be stuck with only one option and force with Eliot would bring dire consequences to the omega’s psyche. 

Eliot’s attention drifted to the rest of the team before settling back on Nate. “Fine. But for the record, I’m only staying here to keep myself from killing the first alpha stupid enough to try and touch me.”

If that wasn’t a warning.

 

oOo

 

“Nate,” Sophie drew his attention. Her dark eyes studied every square inch of his face. She caught him staring at Eliot’s closed bedroom door and this made him feel guilty. “Have you check in on him?”

Nate shook his head. Despite all the pleasant omega pheromones filling the air, he knew Eliot was sitting in his room pissed. “I don’t think he needs the company yet.”

She nodded. “My research on omega uterus burning was disturbing. I think you should know, the chemical burn was never a sanctioned practice in the hospitals or the military. The type of people that would perform a chemical burn aren’t, uh—”

“What?” He took her hand when she trailed off. Touching her instantly warmed his heart.

“I’m just thinking Eliot might be more hopeful than acknowledgeable about the chemical burning. The chemical burn would make it impossible for his heat glands to produce that scent. There is a strong possibility that his body is in excellent shape and his omega senses are primed. He could easily bond with us and that could throw him into a heat. We have to know what he wants before this goes any farther.” Her pupils dilated in response to her thoughts. 

Hardison strolled into the room looking like a drowned rat with an empty glass and plate of untouched food in hand. “Man, if I vomited as much as Eliot, you’d be calling a hearse.”

“Eliot’s sick?” Nate glanced at Sophie. She shook her head in equal confusion and shrugged. 

“Yeah. He’s pretty grumpy too. Tried to bring him water and had it dumped on my head. Can’t do anything right for that grumpy hitter.” Hardison continued. “You’d think being off the suppressants would make him gentler. News flash; it doesn’t. I bet there was piss and vinegar in the placenta fluid he floated in for the first nine months of his life.”

Nate walked past his hacker and straight into the hall. The open layout made the area feel larger than it was. He tapped his knuckles against the door, curt but polite. He knocked harder when there wasn’t an answer. 

“Eliot, open the door!” The silence made his adrenaline spike.

Hardison came to his side with a key, proving again how smart he was. “Man, you should know by now that Eliot ain’t going to do what he doesn’t want to do.”

His hacker unlocked the door and Nate shoved the door open. The acute stench of sickness violated his senses, making his eyes sting. “Eliot?”

The lamp on the bedside table was off, leaving the room in darkness, except for the light that glowed from under the gap in the bathroom door. Sophie turned the bedside lamp on and soft, golden light filled the room. The bedspread barely had a crease, meaning Eliot sat down at least a second before spending the night in the bathroom. There was a glass of water on the table beside a bottle of low grade aspirin. Sophie jiggled the bottle, showing the current occupants in the room, that it was empty.

It wasn’t his business if his associates chose to keep their medical situations private, but this close to their con and knowing that Eliot willingly swallowed dangerous toxins, made him less than agreeable on keeping his silence. Politeness would indicate he knocked first. He barged right into the bathroom.

Eliot rested his head on his arm with his face aimed down at the toilet. He lost a couple shades of color in his skin, leaving it a sickly gray and his body was wet. Nate glanced at the bone-dry shower, confirming that his hitter hadn’t decided to shower with all his clothes on. This sickness was sour like the verge of death.

“Hardison, go call an ambulance.” 

A hand shot out, grabbing his wrist and demanding attention. Eliot mumbled something unintelligible. 

Nate leaned down, pushing Eliot’s wet hair from his face. The omega was covered in perspiration. “What’s wrong, Eliot?”

Eliot’s eyes were glazed, making it impossible to tell if the hitter saw him. “The hospital will run a blood panel.”

Nate steeled his heart. He’d gone through the bag Eliot left in the office, with a fine toothcomb and latex gloves. Safety first. And though many of the drugs were questionable and a few extremely experimental, none would warrant his hitter risking death over an emergency room visit. “What will they find in a drug test?”

Eliot’s silence was maddening. After the years of working so closely together, the fact that they were going into a con that would test their trust, and Eliot still didn’t want to tell him something as important as this.

“You look like you survived hell and back, kid. You’re dehydrated, and I can only imagine what’s going on with your organs under this pressure. I need to get you to the ER.” He found it difficult to keep his tone neutral, the non-judging, non-dictator alpha. 

“Nate!” Eliot growled, then immediately started dry heaving from his exertion. 

Nate grabbed a clean washcloth from under the sink cupboard and soaked it. The water wasn’t ice cold, but it was a start. He expected his hitter to protest when he rubbed the cloth over Eliot’s face. When he didn’t, Nate’s apprehension rose. Eliot was never docile. 

Sophie entered the bathroom and her perfume, though pleasant, warred with the stench of sickness and distress. “He’s right, Nate. We can’t take him to the hospital if he has something in his system that will cause an investigation—”

“It will.” The constant heaving left Eliot’s throat wrecked. His body shivered despite the warmth the lightbulbs gave the bathroom.

Nate stood. “Hop in the shower Eliot. Get that smell off your skin, then get in bed.”

Eliot chuckled through his exhaustion. His hair slid over his face covering his features. Like this, Eliot wouldn’t win in a fight, but he’d fight just the same. His alpha propensities wouldn’t allow him to fold. “You’re getting really bossy in your old age, Nate.”

Nate huffed. _Old age?_ He seriously doubted that was what his hitter really meant to say. 

“Hardison, call Parker and tell her we need a couple bags of Dextrose and Sodium Chloride IV fluid bags. Also, tell her we need the accessories for an IV,” Nate said. Hardison nodded and left. 

Eliot pulled his head up with effort and tried to stare Nate down. It had no effect. “I can handle this by myself. I’ve been through worst.” 

“I know you can handle yourself, but you don’t have to do this alone.” He bit back the desire to tell Eliot he had never seen him looking this bad. The real problem steamed from the scent of distressed omega. The scent twisted all the thoughts in his head. It made him a little too prone to alpha tendencies that he thought he was above.

From the wayward stare he got from his hitter, Eliot possibly already knew. 

 

oOo

 

The cold water cleared his head, but barely altered the burning furnace in his veins. Eliot scrubbed over his skin with the luffa until his flesh was red from the effort. He lathered every square inch of his body and washed his hair twice. He wasn’t doing this for Nate, Sophie or Hardison, though he saw the disgust in their face. And worry. 

Fuck! He didn’t need them being worried over this. He took the case to help the hospitalized omegas, not to become a burden to his team.

He stayed under the water until goosebumps rose on his skin. He turned the water off and waited for the inner heat and discomfort to return. It didn’t, but the clarity it afforded him, made him extremely aware of his wavering strength. He sat on the edge of the tub and toweled off. Still, the inner heat didn’t immediately rush back. He took the time to pull the bottle of baby powder from the gym bag he dragged into the bathroom with him before all hell broke loose.

The powder clouted the air, but he diligently covered his skin. It wouldn’t cover his scent if an alpha stood within a couple of feet, but at least it would block the worst of the smell he gave off. He hadn’t realized how sensitive his senses had gotten until earlier when Nate barged into his space and filled it with alpha-testosterone. His body reacted, and he almost expected his leader to notice, but thankfully, the man only complained about the smell of his sickness. 

A fresh pair of pajamas, boxers and a shirt had been left on the closed toilet lid. He grabbed them, unsure how pleased he was for the clothing when he hadn’t heard the person walk in with them. He really was losing it, which left his gut twisted. He couldn’t protect anyone right now, which made him a hindrance and liability. 

Eliot opened the bathroom door and wasn’t completely surprised to find Nate sitting in a chair by the bed. His belly twisted again, but lower this time, in a place that anticipated something he never really thought about with an alpha, let alone a team member. He remained frozen in the doorway, because if he got any closer, he risked Nate smelling this scent.

“I can’t be around you right now.” He didn’t even want to be around himself. This was more infuriating then having bamboo sticks driven under his nails.

“That’s going to make all this a little tough, then.” Nate said, indicating he should sit on the bed. When he didn’t move, Nate patiently folded his hands over his stomach and watched him. “I need to know what’s happening to you before the nurse gets here.”

“Naming the problem won’t change anything. I’m not willingly going to the hospital,” Eliot said. The quiver started in his thighs. He used the doorframe to stay upright.

Nate remained unreadable. It was the studious expression he wore when he still worked as an insurance investigator. “I will get my answers so why don’t we skip the longwinded cat and mouse game and you tell me what you took.”

He gnawed over that statement, but knew it was true. After all, Nate wasn’t stupid. “It’s what’s _not_ in my body anymore. I stopped taking AlpFen873C and BondEXC7821.”

The dark look in the alpha’s eye made his stomach flip-flop. “Eliot, if the police thought, for one second, that we were supplying you those drugs, they’d put you in the system and we’d be in prison. You escaped the hospital at eleven, but I doubt you’d be so lucky the second time around.”

“That’s why I’m adamant about staying out of the hospital.” He growled. The quiver was getting worse. The inner heat was coming back, coating his skin with sweat. He studied Nate’s face to see what scent would reach him first, the trickle of arousal or the sickness. 

A middle-aged beta in dark blue scrubs stalked into the room. She barely glanced at Nate before her attention rested on him. “You look worse than described.”

Parker came into the room with her messenger bag thrown over her shoulder and Hardison followed her. “I grabbed everything I could find.”

She laid the IV bags on the bed in a meticulous order, then did the same with the needles and tubing. Hardison carried ice packs and took his time to place them at the center of the bed where they’d be at Eliot’s back and waist. This made him feel worse. He didn’t need the team pampering him like some lame member of the team.

Once the nurse had everything she needed, she turned to look at him. “What are you having a reaction to?”

The team stopped their tasks to stare. The sudden dizziness he felt had more to do with nerves than with the return of the budding heat at his core. He debated answering, but Nate’s narrowed eyes dared him to try and lie. 

“AlpFen873C and BondEXC7821.” It physically hurt to say these words in front of alphas. The looks thrown at him were nothing short of hostile and though it wasn’t directed towards him, he felt their alpha-tudes more than he desired.

“You’re kidding, Eliot.” Sophie’s disappointment was beyond hurtful. Her radiance immediately withdrew into lackluster disappointment. 

“I’m not claimed. It did what it was supposed to do.” He wanted to nag the situation like a preteen. This objectionable trait was due to the drug withdrawal. He had to be stronger. 

“Get in bed so I can hook you up,” the nurse said. 

Eliot held Nate’s eyes. “I want to do this alone, Nate.”

His leader motioned for the team to leave the room. Eliot didn’t approach the bed until the door shut the alphas out. There was no indication that anyone smelled his less than desirable reaction to Nate.

 

oOo

 

“You smell like you’re about to hit someone.” Hardison took his chair in their meeting room. His long fingers were already busy opening his computer screen and fiddling with the collected data.

Nate pushed his hands through his hair. “You have no idea. I wish I could find the asshole who thought it was a great idea helping Eliot poison his body and ring the weasel’s neck. It’s pure poison and omegas like Eliot who hate their gender are desperate enough to take these deadly chances. He needs more help than we can give him and now he feels responsible for this con.”

“You think we should pull out?” Sophie asked. 

“This time, I do. I want to help these nests, but not at Eliot’s expense. He’s not in the right frame of mind to help anyone, let alone himself.” What they did, at the best of times, was tricky to maneuver. When things got dangerous, it often went south fast and their hitter was no longer their best bet. 

Not to mention a few new issues that were slowly arising. 

He knew Eliot was an omega, but it was easy to forget when their hitter walked around with an alpha attitude. The man hit hard. He rushed head first into battle. He never complained. He had a combat answer for everything. He was observant, and he was dangerous. But now, he smelled like an omega. His eyes actually dilated when alphas were present. His pheromones gave off scents that belied his emotional and physical state. 

His phone rang. It was the clinic’s number. 

He let it go to voice mail.

 

oOo

 

“Like hell you’re calling this off. I didn’t go through this detox for my benefit!” Eliot sat straight up, then immediately sank back against the pillows. His skin color was a shade closer to normal, but the dark circles were still prominent under his eyes. 

“This con has gotten considerably more complicated with you as bait.” Nate was ready to list all the complications but refrained. The last thing Eliot needed was to be treated like a child.

Eliot twisted in his nest of sheets before allowing the nurse to help him sit long enough for Nate to exchange the warm icepacks with freshly frozen packs. It would’ve been easier on the nurse to switch the packs herself, but Eliot made it clear he didn’t welcome his alpha leader’s touch. Even being this close, he could once again sense Eliot’s true omega scent beyond the sickness and the baby powder. It was an alluring aroma.

“There is nothing complicated about this con. It’s smart. Have Hardison forge Omega Border Farm documents. The omegas that end up there have seen everything. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary—” 

Nate raised a hand and Eliot immediately stopped rambling. He took silent orders far too well despite being utterly feral. “The stakes are too high.”

“Stakes are always high Nate. The first hiccup and you’re ready to pull out?” His words were heavy, almost slurred. 

Nate watched the nurse help Eliot lay back. Maybe she placed codeine in his iv to keep him comfortable. He didn’t look like he hurt. “You are not a hiccup, kid. You’re the whole roadblock. If they find these highly illegal substances in your bloodstream, you’ll end up in a program. I’m willing to take numerous risks, but I’d never gamble you.”

Eliot chuckled softly. “You want me to believe you don’t have an out for every situation you think we might get into?”

“You’re right, but you won’t like my solution.” Nate hated how resigned he felt.

Eliot stared up at him with his worldly gray eyes. “What’s your conclusion?”

“I will claim you. Right there in front of everyone. I will claim you before I let them put you in the system.” Nate was proud how blunt and without emotion the statement came out. To his surprise, Eliot’s pupils dilated. 

It had to be in response to the medication and his weak system because it’d be crazy to think that something in that statement appealed to Eliot. 

Right?


	3. Chapter 3

Nate wrestled with his thoughts for nearly a week. There were a few ways around every dilemma, but in his many years as a presented alpha, he never thought he’d have to take the role of an _omega proprietor_. He rolled his head, trying to loosen the tight muscles in his shoulders and neck. The ink on their Omega Border Farm contract shimmered wet and fresh. From this point on, Eliot would be stripped of his authority within their group while at the clinic.

“What’s your decision Nate? Are we going through with this?” Sophie remained composed while sipping her third cup of coffee. Her dark, brown eyes gave nothing away, but the tilt of her chin said she had a strong opinion on this.

Nate pushed his hand through his wet hair. The cold shower cleared the fog sinking in, filling his mind with simple _alpha_ logic, which wasn’t suitable in any way. The desire was another obstacle that needed tackling. His inner alpha desired his hitter.   
Holding eye contact with his team while admitting this next part, was difficult. “Yes. We’re going to cum mark Eliot.”

Hardison slammed his open palm against the counter. “There is no way he’s going to agree with this.”

Nate didn’t doubt that. Eliot was trained to bout. Had gone up against numerous alphas, and though the damage on his body had been great, he was fiercely proud of his independence and that he could protect alphas from other alphas. “He’ll see the merit in this lesser evil.”

Hardison huffed. His issues with their hitter ran deep. “Are we doing this in person because frankly, I enjoy having all my limbs securely fastened to my body.”

By way of answer, Nate slid the cups on the edge of the island table, to the center. It took merely a second for the team to see what he was getting at. “We aren’t personally going to make him sit there while we mark him. He’s going to do it himself, in the privacy of his room.”

“He has no idea this is the direction you’re heading?” Sophie studied him like a hawk. She was the only one on the team that could see straight through a person. 

“I’m going to walk in there with our semen and give him the option,” Nate said. He dragged his feet on this decision and now they had less than three hours for check in at the clinic.

“You understand what Nate wants us to do, right?” Hardison’s face softened when he dealt with Parker. 

She shrugged her willowy shoulder and offered a naïve smile; all teeth and blind happiness. “Yeah. We’re going to mark Eliot and make him ours. Makes total sense. I’ve been wanting to do that to all of you.”

Hardison sighed, pulling Parker out of the room with him. “We’re not marking him. He’s making the decision to mark himself and he’s not ours, Parker.”

_”Not yet”_

Nate was almost sure he heard that last part and something within him agreed with Hardison’s statement. Eliot needed them more than the repressed, emotionally stunted omega knew. How long did they allow him to be self-destructive before they put their foot down, as a strong front against Eliot’s suppressant addiction? 

Their voices trailed off with Hardison explaining to Parker that alphas didn’t mark other alphas. With Parker, she didn’t exactly understand what was taboo. It made her a wild card, but he was glad to have her on the team.

Sophie sighed as she loudly slid her cup to the edge of the counter. “Hardison is right about limb amputation. You’re going in that room to announce this great idea, alone.”

“This is our only none-claiming option.” He yelled after her quickly retreating form. He held his breath waiting for a response. The soft click of a door closing said she was now in her room, ignoring him. 

He took his cup and went upstairs. The guilt was there, eating at his soul. Cum-marking Eliot didn’t cover half the issues that awoken in him. He shut his door, stripped out of his shirt and shimmied out of his pants. On the bed were four jumpers Hardison and Parker found at a second-hand omega shop, with the intension of looking worn. Parker added an army print jumper to their pile. The other three were solid colors, something very neutral and lowkey, like Eliot. 

He grabbed the pillowcase he brought into his room from Eliot’s last bed change. It smelled more like Eliot now that their hitter had a saline cleanse for the better part of the week. He rubbed his nose against the pillow, sucking in the heady scent of male-omega and his knees buckled with want. It was a dangerous game, letting his alpha develop a strong desire for his hitter. He didn’t heed the internal alarms as he continued to sniff the pillow and stroke his shaft into hardness. His shaft tightened into fullness, purple veins bulged from his wanton flesh, thick like the rest of him. 

Pre-come dewed on the slit on his mushroom tip. He could smell his excitement, but it didn’t compare to the clean scent that surrounded their omega hitter. He didn’t want to be lewd, but Eliot was someone he could see himself repeatedly knotting. It’d been a long time since he knotted another being, since Sophie had a non-knotting clause that he gladly followed, because she returned the favor by not knotting him. He slid his hand down to cup and pull on his balls. This wasn’t going to last long. He dragged his hand back to his shaft when precum started to leak from his tip. 

This was bad. Real bad. He was crossing a huge line and unlike Parker, he absolutely understood the ramifications. But he wanted Eliot so bad. He wanted to give their hitter something he was sure no one else could give; family, loyalty and protection. 

His knot started to fill when his strokes slid a little too high.

But he couldn’t stop thinking about Eliot; how he smiled, how he jerked his hair out of his face, the sparkle in his gray eyes, the way he always smelled like something edible and soulful. He couldn’t stop thinking about the way Eliot growled like an alpha and how quick his temper flared. And how utterly lost he looked now that he smelled like an omega.

His heart stopped. He was sure of it, because his mind had so thoroughly pictured Eliot giving it up to him.

The orgasm hit with dire necessity. He barely stopped himself from sliding hand higher, to pull on his knot like a faux anal cavity. The orgasm sent blissful heat through his entire body as he rode it, stroking his semen into the sizeable cup, so glad he had grabbed the extra-large style. 

His thick semen filled the cup nearly to the brim and over, thank god he dragged his ass to the bathroom, so he could finish spurting his heavy load in the sink until the last wave left him. He cupped his flesh and waited until the sensitivity left his shaft before he tucked himself back into his pants. God, he would have to watch himself. He had Eliot’s scent locked in his nose and every well-established alpha knew what that lead to.

 

oOo

 

“You must have a guardian angel, kid.” The nurse said, pulling the last iv needle from his arm and gently covering the open wound with cotton and a weird, spongy tape that wouldn’t leave marks when it was time to pull them off. He wore that strange spongy tape on both forearms and one over his right hand. It was overkill, but they leaned on the side of caution to thoroughly clean his system.

“If a guardian angel really existed, I hope it had the good sense to not let me walk into that clinic,” he growled. Every muscle in his body felt stiff from laying prone these last couple of days. He wasn’t used to the constant care. It made him feel… well, like an omega.

A soft knock announced a guest. He barely shifted his weight to greet the caller, expecting the team. They came in groups or all at once, but this time Nate was alone and he carried a small tray with four blue cups, all the same height and the way he walked suggested they were full of liquid. His sensitive nose picked up the tart smell of alpha semen. It had a very distinct musky odor, perfect for marking their property, though he usually smelled it on other omegas in society and never without a body wearing it.

“What do you have there, Nate?” He barely kept the growl from his tone. It didn’t sound so gravely lately, damn omega biology.

Nate sat the jars on the dresser, far out of reach and laid omega jumpers on the bed. They might as well have been prison uniforms for all he cared. He hated the delicate fabric and the way it bunched at the waistline and the puffy sleeves. It was no better than wearing an omega sign that said; _come and get it, wet and horny._

After all, according to alphas, you can’t rape the willing and who was more willing than a hysterical diminutive omega who could only be placated with a knot. Everything was a nightmare.

“The ball is in your court. We understand the pressure you’re under and what you’re now dealing with. We’ll be waiting in the office. If you decide to go through with this, you’re going to need to cum mark your body and pick an outfit to wear. Sophie already has your overnight bag packed but bring the other jumpers with you.” At the end of his statement, Nate exited. 

He just left.

Eliot’s attention fell on the jumpers. No way in hell should they fit! He put extensive hours in at the gym for the body he had. The steroids and omega-genetic-blockers should make him too thick for the cuteness sitting at the edge of his bed. His eyes jumped to the four cups sitting on his dresser. “Jesus, they really are stupid if I’m not around.”

The nurse huffed. “They aren’t the ones dealing with bedrest and constant iv drips to clean their system.”

“No, but they—” He couldn’t say it as he pointed to the cups. Instead, he focused on something just as dire. “That’s my good platter. I’m going to have to throw it away now. God, what a stupid alpha!”

Oh God! Did he just refer to Nate as alpha? He shook the thought, but it kept looping over in his brain. They were alphas, yes, alphas with beta tendencies that he had to protect from alpha-alphas. Maybe that’s where the real security came from. There was no way, not one small chance that his omega senses would accept them as his alphas. This was a ploy that he could pull off for a week. No harm. 

His stomach turned as he threw his legs over the side of the bed and pressed his head downward to keep from hyperventilating. 

“Are you going to vomit?” The nurse asked, waiting too patiently. 

It took a moment to collect himself. Because the hero side of him warred with fear he hadn’t felt since he was a child. He knew he was going to go through with this. There was never any real doubt despite his mind wavering with apprehension and anger. 

“If I’d known this was going to be how the day went, I wouldn’t have showered this morning.” He tried for humor and couldn’t find any. He pulled his sleep pants and shirt off. The fabric was clean, Sophie had tried to keep everything clean this past week, which meant switching all fabric out every morning. “Can you help me?”

The nurse nodded, unreadable. Strangely, he found that comforting. He survived life by how well he could read others. He wished he could put all his faith in his team, but he wasn’t ready to give that control to anyone. His dad had him committed for his first heat, but it was his uncle that hid him when he showed up at his doorstep; another alpha with a beta son close to his age. His uncle had served in the military. His uncle was the one that helped him with suppressants and taught him how to pass polygraphs and alpha scrutiny.

“Do you want to smell any of this before I put it on you?” The nurse inquired. 

He stood, legs and arms spread and shook his head. Smelling an alphas intimate scent was a horrible idea. His omega brain was already muddled. She spread one-fourth of the gelatinous mess from two cups, onto his chest and lower stomach, coating his shoulders and inner hips, careful of his groin. The other two jars were spread across the back of his neck, and his lower back, careful of his ass, though she did coat his outer thighs. He waited for his skin to dry and tried not to fear the situation when the scent wafted up at his nose. 

“You going to be okay, soldier?” she asked, pulling him back from his wayward thoughts.

“I feel like this is karma kicking me in the butt,” he answered.

He pulled on the stupid lacy omega boy-shorts and the nurse helped him into the army style jumper. Without her, he knew his irritation would have him ripping at the fabric. There was elastic in the ankles, letting the fabric flare in the calves and thighs. The elastic around the waist gave him a tapered look despite having a narrow waist. 

The fitted outfit made him look smaller. He hated it. He pulled his hair into low ponytail at the nape of his neck and tried to ignore that his body heat made the cum scent stronger, like it was fresh. Again, this should’ve made him want to vomit. It wasn’t the scent turning his stomach…. It was his fear. A couple of weeks ago, the musky semen would’ve turned his stomach. The medications had helped him reject every aspect of his omega nature. Now, it felt unreal, like he was walking in a dream, waiting for it to turn into a nightmare.

“Thank you for getting me through the worst of the detox,” Eliot said, watching the beta nurse clean and carefully pack her items back into her bag.

“I’m glad to be on call for all of you, after what you did for my family and me.” Her smile was soft and sympathetic. 

He left it at that, because if he stayed a minute longer, he wasn’t going to leave the room. He cracked his door open. No one waited in the hallway. The house felt so spacious and wide and after spending a week where his world centered around his small space, he wanted to slink back into it. He clamped down on his nerves and with the stupid jumpers in hand, walked through the quiet home to the office where the team was waiting. 

His heart wanted to jump out of his chest when he pushed the door open and entered the space. This didn’t smell like his team… This smelled like possible mate protentional and he hated his brain for instantly wondering on such a topic. He was right at ground zero, watching the second his scent hit them, because all four of his associates inhaled and their pupils expanded. They were smelling themselves on him. He couldn’t begin to think what their focused minds instantly thought.

Parker looked far too pleased. “I knew you’d pick that jumper. It’s the best.”

He ignored her statement. “Let’s get this done.”

 

oOo

 

Eliot entered the clinic behind his team. Nate swore at any time until they were booked in, that he could pull out. To uphold that promise, no one stood behind him, making him feel trapped. However, it wasn’t lost on him that they kept glancing back to make sure he was still there.

The clinic was setup like a regular emergency waiting room. Numerous gray boxes on the ceiling kept the air sterile with grape scent blockers. The large waiting room held two more nests. One nest was young and all women with one much smaller young male omega. The second nest was co-ed, all above the ages of forty with one young female omega. 

That was exactly how he no longer fit into the breeding equation. He was way over the prime breeding age between sixteen and twenty-five. This con might not even get off the ground when the doctors realized he no longer had heats. That last thought made him snort under his breath. He couldn’t imagine presenting, in any fashion, on all fours with his butt in the air. He couldn’t even picture himself glassy eyed and hopeful for a knot. The thought made him snort again.

“Eliot.” Sophie indicated he should sit.

He fell into the plastic bucket seat, relieved to be sitting. A tension headache brewed in his shoulders and neck. He tried rubbing the muscles in his shoulders, but to no relief. “This place hasn’t changed in the slightest. It still smells like a candy shop and I think that’s still the same receptionist.”

Nate and Hardison stood at the counter, handing over their licenses to the receptionist stationed at the registry. She handed over clipboards and pens. Hardison glanced back at them, forehead etched with lines of concern before he took the pen and started the paperwork.

“Are you okay?” Sophie kept her voice low. She leaned in and he could smell the alpha musk that permeated from her, mixed with her citrus perfume. She could probably smell her ejaculation on his skin. 

He continued to dampen all scents around him by breathing through his mouth. Driving to the clinic was hell enough. It wasn’t just concerned alpha pheromones that dampened the confined space. It smelled like home and that was more worrisome. This was just a job. His mind wouldn’t be so confused if he was on his medications. 

“Eliot?” Sophie asked, placing a hand on his wrist. The touch was gentle. Easy to push her back if he needed to.

He fought that desire for space. Alphas were so god-damn clingy when they thought an omega needed them. “This is going to be fucked up no matter what.”

She’d never been a threat, but he’d never been able to smell every last thing about her either. And that _everything_ made him uncomfortable with the way it made him want to lean inward and lay his head on her shoulder. He hated that he wanted her approval. 

Sophie sighed and nodded her head. Her dark eyes held his. “Agreed. You do your bit and we’ll do ours. This is just a job.”

It took forty-five minutes before the first group got called back behind the facility door. The female omega kept her head down as she followed her nest through the mechanically locked door, which in turn, made everything in Eliot’s chest tighten. The facility would swallow him too. It took the personality right out of an omega. 

Barely twenty minutes passed before the door swung open and a nurse called the next group. God. No. It was too soon. He hoped for at least another hour. 

“No! No! Don’t touch me! Don’t make me go!” The omega kicked and screamed at the hands reaching for him. The smell of omega fear blossomed into the air. The kid radiated sheer panic. Orderlies rushed into the waiting room. 

Eliot didn’t even realize he stood until Nate caught him around the waist, pulling him tight against his chest. 

One shallow breath. The second a little deeper. He didn’t mean to breathe Nate in. The man smelled like fine, aged whisky and a cedar bar. He didn’t mean for his body to bow into the sturdy strength that held him so tight against the warm and surprisingly solid body in front of him. 

“Not your battle Eliot. He’s just scared. It’s not a fight.” Nate whispered against his ear. His warm breath was comforting too. Damnit!

He watched over Nate’s shoulder as the omega was eventually brought to the floor and subdued by the syringe the top orderly administered. The omega had to be carried and the orderly had no difficulty with his task. That’s why Eliot weighed more than most male omegas. It was muscle and hopefully it would crush an alpha’s lower back to lift him.

“You need to calm your scent down.” Nate leaned in, rubbing tight circles on his lower back. 

He should have pulled away. He didn’t. But he knew he should have. His tongue felt heavy and his brain fogged with a tsunami of emotions, anger being the most dominant. “Can I leave, right now?”

One beat. Two. Finally, Nate let him go and stepped back. “Yes. Of course. I’m not your alpha.”

Eliot pushed his hands through his hair, trying to clear the smell of that young, scared omega from senses. But Nate said his scent was currently strong too. He couldn’t smell his scent covered in his team’s most intimate of smells. His brain slid straight to where that smell came from; the weight of an alpha’s balls, the thickness of their girth, a dense knot binding him as close as he can ever be to another human.

His breath caught.

He glanced over at Nate. His lead wasn’t staring at him, but he had the feeling he wasn’t completely out of the alpha’s scope of sight. There were no telltale signs, other than how utterly still the alpha stayed. Every muscle in the man’s lean body was tense and ready to spring. This left Eliot anxious, because everything in his hormone induced brain actually found comfort by this clear act of alpha-ism. Hardison was standing too, and for all purpose of appearance, both alphas were quietly talking. He knew they wouldn’t sit until he did. 

Before he could make that decision, a heavy, security door swung open and a young woman in bright, cartoonish scrubs stood in the doorway. Her brown hair was in a ponytail that swayed when she looked up from her chart. Her smile was far too patient. “Nathan Ford.”

“You used your real name? That makes this a little more legal.” Eliot stood straighter. Fake names. That’s how they did it to keep the cons from doubling back into their real lives. 

Nate indicated the nurse waiting expectantly at the automatic door. When he didn’t move, the alpha’s brows furrowed. “Are we walking through that door?”

A headache pounded at the back of his skull. It grew worse with every step he took towards the nurse. This was utterly insane. 

She sniffed the air and frowned. “Are you heading out to a rally with this one?”

He didn’t realize he’d given her a _look_ until Sophie nudged his shoulder and scooted him through the door. The clinic beyond the waiting room smelled less sterile. Everything was white; white tile, white walls, white framed art with yellow and white flowers. The air smelled like rubbing alcohol and disinfectant. White noise was pumped through round, silver speakers overhead, giving the place a hushed feel. It didn’t cancel the distant sound of crying and begging and there were no beta blockers in the air to conceal the scent of omega heat. 

“Thank you for seeing us on such short notice,” Sophie said, swinging the attention her way. Her very presence commanded attention. 

“Yes. Of course. When Doctor Tuomos heard about your omega, he knew your situation couldn’t wait.” She lead them down the long corridor. There had to be at least fifteen small patient rooms. Instead of curtains, a glass wall closed the space, making it easy for doctors and nurses to look in on their patients, but difficult for an omega to escape. 

Clever. 

He forgot about the sheer oppression beating down at every angle here. How it felt like he’d been buried so deep that he was already in his grave. Nate stepped closer and placed a hand at his lower back, encouraging him to continue walking, or offering his emotional support, it was difficult to tell, but so utterly domineering. And worse; he didn’t wholly hate warmth that tightened in his belly. The alpha scent he was smothered in, actually brought him comfort. 

That couldn’t be good. 

He entered the clean medical room behind the nurse and Parker. The examination table already had the stirrups out and waiting. There was no gown to preserve his innocence, though, in truth, omegas weren’t given that courtesy. He knew the drill.   
Nate and Hardison stood against the wall within touching distance of the examination table smack in the center. Sophie took a seat and crossed her legs. Parker took her time exploring the room, touching things on the counter, opening cabinets and pulling wrapped things out to look at. The nurse said nothing about the strange crew. 

Instead, she sat his chart down. “My, aren’t you a healthy little omega. You haven’t suffered any malnourishment while staying at the farm. Good hygiene—” she reached up and stuck her fingers in his mouth, pulling his lips down to examine his teeth. He thought about growling. He wasn’t a pet. “Your teeth are very clean.”

There was suspicion in that statement. He kept his attention fixed on her. He’d be damned if he looked over to Nate for nonverbal affirmation. 

The nurse, with no nametag, jotted a few things on his chart. “Go ahead and strip, then stand on the scale, sweetie.”

He snorted, annoyed and anxious. “I can tell you how much I weigh.”

Her smile turned up a notch with gentle persistence. “We have to keep everything as accurate as possible, dear. We don’t want to overmedicate you on accident.”

Eliot huffed and stepped onto the scale, not bothering to shed an ounce of clothing, not even the stupid omega slip-ons. He doubted the thin fabric and narrow soled shoes added anything to the scale. The number rolled to 165 lbs. It was all muscle. He’d be so much smaller if his gender had even an ounce of sway. He was too hardheaded to let his body tell him what he should be and when he should be it. 

The nurse hummed but didn’t demand anything from the group of alphas. “Take a seat. The doctor will be with you in a moment.”

“Aren’t you missing a few medical steps,” Eliot goaded, pointing towards the blood pressure cuff on the wall. 

“The doctor will be with you shortly. Please ring if you need anything.” Her humor was gone when she indicated the button on the wall before closing the door on her way out. 

“What is this for?” Parker asked, turning around with forceps in her hand. 

“Jesus!” Eliot’s stomach tightened. He felt the panic sinking in. Reigning that fear back in, was much more difficult without the medications. 

“Girl, put that down before they have to disinfect everything again. Things like that have to stay sterile around here,” Hardison lectured. 

Nate and Sophie weren’t distracted. Eliot opened his mouth to ask them the setup when the door swung open and a man wearing sea green scrubs walked into the room. The alpha doctor was on the lean side. His blondish hair had a hint of gray along the temples. His round, thin rimmed glasses gave him a soft, friendlier look.

“I’d like to congratulate you on your purchase, Mr. Ford. I never thought I’d see Eliot walk back through these doors again.” The doctor shook hands with Nate first then moved down the line of alphas, stopping before he got to Parker. He sat the chart on the counter and washed his hands. “I read in your chart that you’re having mating issues. I’m not surprised.”

“The Garden State Clinic said they’d have an opening in two weeks and though they aren’t our first choice, I’d rather not risk another passing heat without a proper mating.” Nate spoke for the group as the apex alpha.

Nate, Sophie and Hardison kept their gaze on the doctor as he flipped through the notes. There couldn’t be many, since the nurse did little more than weigh him, and even then, she never wrote it down. Parker held the forceps at her side, squeezing and releasing them as she took in the room. His world felt like it was spinning, which left him repeating the only thing that calmed his nerves; this was a con. This wasn’t real.

“We have the better program for omegas like Eliot. Garden State Clinic won’t be able to address his behavioral issues by his next heat,” the doctor said. He turned to Eliot who chose to stand by the examination table instead of sitting. “Okay Eliot, it’s time to take off your clothes so I can take a good look at you.”

Eliot rolled his eyes. Was everyone in the clinic going to talk to him like he was eleven and scared out of his mind? A tiny voice inside his head scream; _it’s not far from the truth._ “Close the curtain.”

It was a show down, one that he knew he already lost the minute he walked through those security doors. Parker moved to grab the curtain. Nate caught her arm and pulled her back into Hardison’s arms. Hardison gave a stern shake of his head, quieting a question at the tip of her tongue.

“Yes, well. I expected this,” the doctor said as two football player sized alphas walked into the room. They both had seven inches in height and a great deal of muscle. Their heads were shaved and they wore white, clean scrubs. “Mr. Ford, at this point, we ask the alphas to step out of the room. Omegas tend to panic, and it has in the past, triggered unwarranted aggression in their alphas.”

He immediately stepped back, before he could stop himself. Panicking wouldn’t help. “This is overkill. My weight isn’t an issue.”

“We’ll stay,” Nate said. He squared his shoulders back and managed to look aggressive, something Hardison easily mirrored. The beta-alpha attitude wasn’t present in them, which made Eliot anxious. He didn’t want to see his team in this new light.  
Eliot glared. “I don’t want you to stay, Nate.”

“Your omega calls you by your name?” Judgment lingered in the doctor’s tone as he wrote a note on his clipboard. “That needs to be fixed immediately.”

“Eliot.” Nate warned in an alpha tone he reserved for more aggressive cons.

Eliot slapped at the first orderly to reach for him, but the second one was suddenly crowding his space and forcing him back into the corner. If he fought, they’d drug him, but he couldn’t submit. Eventually, he’d end up on the table, but he’d prove his point first. 

_Oh well. Why the hell not._

Eliot lunged at the first orderly, nailing the man square in the face with his fist. He kicked the second orderly in the hip, throwing the man back. It barely bought him a second before the first orderly caught him around his torso, and spun him up against the table, pinning his arms. With the sudden weight holding him down, he lost his advantage within seconds.


	4. Chapter 4

Eliot lost the struggle fast. His stupid jumper was no match for the orderlies who probably disrobed livid, hostile omegas a hundred times a week. The men drew him to his feet and shoved his chest against the padded medical bed. The position forced him to bend at the hips. 

He was painfully aware of his vulnerability and the way the scrubs felt against his bare skin. He could feel the alpha’s body temperature permeating through the cotton fabric. The largest orderly held his wrists at his back and used his lower bodyweight to pin Eliot against the bed. The man was surprisingly gentle.

Eliot tried jerking again. The orderly was good; had him in a position that would force him to break his arm to get loose. Fuck! 

He didn’t see his day going this route. Deep down, he knew it would eventually playout like this, but he honestly didn’t just imagine being bent over an exam table with his team watching. And the hospital staff _thought_ he was the one with the issues. 

“Is your omega on anything for his PTSD? Do you give him medication for his anxiety?” Doctor Tuomos prepared a line of filled syringes as if the conversion held no weight.

“Nothing.” Nate didn’t miss a beat. Was he disappointed that Eliot fought? It didn’t show in his neutral tone. 

“What’s in the syringes doc?” Eliot asked. The hand on top of his skull made it impossible for him to bend even the slightest to look at his team, something he was grateful for. 

He hated having witnesses. He absolutely hated how susceptible he felt. His pulse leaped in his throat as he watched the doctor check every syringe for air bubbles. 

“Hey asshole, I asked you a question!” He’d seen enough therapists in the army to know his aggression was in direct correlation to feeling a loss of control, but damnit! Anger made him feel better. 

“I recommend we start Eliot on something while he’s here for observation. You might see a huge improvement with the aggression,” Doctor Tuomos said.

“What are you giving him right now?” Nate inquired. His neutral tone made Eliot even angrier. 

“This is a liquid sedative to keep him calm for the duration of the exam. These two are hormone and dopamine boosts. We give all our visiting omegas the dopamine. It doesn’t put omegas in a heat, but it does make them less resistant towards the classes. You would be surprised how many omegas suffer from knot fear.” Doctor Tuomos took the time to show Nate the syringes.

Reality hit. It hit hard. “Don’t! Don’t you fucking touch me with those. I will fu—”

A hand slid to the back of his neck and tightened. Heat rolled down his spine, turning every muscle into gooey nothingness and momentarily blurred his thoughts. He had to fight hard to stay conscious and listen to the alpha discussion. 

“Calm yourself, Eliot. You’re going to feel real relaxed in a couple of minutes,” the doctor told him. The man gently brushed Eliot’s hair from his face before bringing his attention back to his task.

Eliot grunted in annoyance. A lump of fear tightened the back of his throat making it difficult to breath. He was salivating from his pent-up terror.

“We don’t want to hurt you,” the orderly adjusted his stance, which brought Eliot’s ass up against the man’s groin. His alpha cock was soft in the confines of his scrub pants, but the outline was daunting. His touch whispered military training. His grip was far too firm for a regular civilian and he knew the right pressure points in the wrists to keep Eliot from jerking back.

Still, it didn’t stop Eliot from jerking to the side. Pain shot up his left arm, the arm he was willing to sacrifice. He kicked with force at the orderly on his left. The man moved an inch, escaping his stunted reach and caught his leg instead. He forced Eliot’s left leg up onto the bed, which threw off his balance and gave him absolutely no leverage to pull another stunt. 

New pain shot between his thighs and groin for having his legs spread at such a strange angle. None of his daily stretching could prepare for the pressure their combined weight placed on his tendons. If they let him go, he’d fall before he caught his balance. 

“He has Ranger training, sir,” one of the orderlies, the oldest one in the room, stated. He was the man leaning into his back like a log.

“How can you tell?” The doctor asked with genuine interest. 

“It’s a very distinct fighting style, sir,” the man replied. 

Eliot huffed. Let them ponder how an omega got enlisted and worked his way into a Ranger status. There was so much about him that would blow the doctor’s mind. 

“Really not becoming of such a beautiful omega. I would highly suggest, Mr. Ford, that you get Eliot an appointment for castration while you’re here.” The doctor said.

“Don’t you dare touch me. I’ll lay you out!” Eliot growled. 

“Mr. Ford, I do suggest that you and your family step out of the room. Your omega is highly stressed and it’s starting to affect your scent,” the doctor said.

“That is quite alright. Our omega is prone to panic attacks, nothing we haven’t seen before.” Nate’s voice deepened with alpha dominance.

Eliot moaned before he could catch himself; Nate’s scent was getting into his head. Maybe it was partly due to being so prone that left his senses heightened. 

Rubbing alcohol bloomed in the air and a second later the doctor rubbed a patch of skin on his upper thigh. The syringe pierced his flesh and the liquid instantly made his body and mind heavy.

The second shot added to the sudden lethargy. Voices grew deeper and distant. His mind centered on his breathing, which almost sounded thunderous. 

Every dragging second was a loss… 

 

oOo

 

Sophie dragged her nails into his forearm, reminding Nate to breathe. He let the air out slowly, but when he inhaled, Eliot’s scent drove his thoughts insane. Those feelings went straight to the one part of him that would be the least helpful in dealing with their situation.

Eliot went boneless against the table. All that warm, bare skin hugged beautiful muscle. There were old battle scars, and a few newer ones that were still pink and puckered. 

“Looks like someone has behavioral issues,” the doctor said, mistaking the scars for corrective behavioral training. The man pulled a thermometer from his pocket. At Eliot’s angle, with his leg being held up on the table, the doctor slid the little stick directly between his butt cheeks and to the center of his mating channel. 

“That’s probably the first foreign object that’s ever been down there,” Parker whispered. Sophie coughed loudly and the orderly closest to them shifted his gaze from one lady to the next. 

Nate ran a hand through his hair and tried to keep his possessiveness from rearing its ugly head. Eliot’s anxiety was not a calling card to knot his pretty little, vulnerable hitter, but his body was responding to his friend’s distress. His shaft throbbed with blood. He wanted to calm Eliot with his scent and semen. 

Doctor Tuomos pulled out the thermometer, checked the number and jotted it down before slipping the used thermometer into a glass of disinfectant. “His general body temperature is too low for his gender. He’s not anywhere near a heat, which I do strongly suggest you be here for, so our trained staff can assist.”

“We will take that into consideration if the classes go well.” It took a great deal of effort to tear his gaze off Eliot and meet the doctor’s eyes. Eliot’s naked body in all its muscular glory only confirmed that his hitter was an amazingly disciplined man.

As he spoke, the orderlies pulled Eliot onto the bed and positioned his limbs into lamb skin cuffs for each wrist and ankle. It was unnerving to see Eliot compliant, like they walked in on something too intimate for words. Strands of his long hair stuck to his face with sweat. 

His chest and underarms were bare of hair, much like his arms and legs. The patch of hair between his thighs was neatly trimmed, and his omega cock was flaccid and small. His ball sac wasn’t that large either; hanging exposed to medical examination.

“Now is a good time, Mister Ford, to comfort your omega while he won’t fuss. If you chose, I can easily keep him drugged until you all had a chance to work on his aversion to being touched.” The doctor didn’t turn away from his notes as he charted a few more observations. 

Nate kicked away from the wall. Within a couple steps, he was at the head of the bed with his hand looming over Eliot’s head. He had no problem touching an omega, but Eliot wasn’t _his_. He couldn’t let his mind forget that as he pushed his hitter’s hair away from his face. His skin was hot to the touch. 

Eliot’s eyelashes fluttered as he fought to stay conscious. “Nate. I can smell you.”

Nate froze with his hand inches from his hitter’s head. Did that mean Eliot could smell his interest? Even if his hitter could smell his interest, would he really recognize it for what it was in this drugged state. His eyes were dazed and his pupils dilated. 

Doctor Tuomos chuckled and shook his head. “Of course, you do. That’s your alpha.” The doctor turned to Nate. “Omegas say such strange things when they are medicated. You can ask him anything. You will probably get the truth right now.”

Nate nodded, keeping his eyes on Eliot’s face. He wanted to draw his fingers over his eyebrows and down his nose. He wanted to trace every feature on his hitter. It’d be too easy to lean forward and kiss Eliot. In this hazed state, his hitter would probably accept it too. 

“He doesn’t have claim marks. You understand, omegas like this need to know where they stand with their pack. They need hard rules and strong love,” the doctor took Eliot’s chin and moved his head from one side to the next.

“We love Eliot more than—” Parker started.

“Not to worry. We’ll go over all this with you during the classes.” The doctor placed gloves on and firmly grasped Eliot’s chin, shining a light in his eyes and making small approving sounds. 

He felt along Eliot’s throat, then worked his way around his pectorals, which made the omega squirm and tug at the restraints in a dazed effort to crawl away. The doctor circled one of Eliot’s areolas before tugging on his nipple. 

“Nice size nipples for feeding pups and alphas.” The doctor did the same thing to his other nipple before getting so close to exam the hard nub, that for a second, Nate thought the man would try to suck on them. “You strike me as a traditionalist. You’ll probably be first in line the second his milk drops.”

“I think I’d like that!” Parker said. 

Their hitter’s leg jerked, caught by the straps. “Not happening, Parker!”

That was surprisingly clear. And short lived. Their hitter clearly couldn’t keep his focus before his eyes started drifting again. 

“Nate?” Sophie came to the side of the bed and raised her chin to his shoulder, so she could whisper in his ear. “You need to calm your scent. This is new and overwhelming to Parker.”

He glanced back at Parker and sighed. Until now, he never realized how territorial he felt towards his hitter. Maybe that was something Parker struggled with too. Hardison looked stoic, arms crossed and face contemplative. He looked about as pensive as Nate felt.

The doctor continued the examination by pressing along Eliot’s ribcage and over his muscular stomach. The man didn’t say anything, though his fingers lingered over scars as if burning them to memory before gliding lower. He brushed over Eliot’s pelvis, and then gripped his penis.

Doctor Tuomos gave it a few gentle tugs until Eliot’s shaft started to harden, giving a better estimate on his size. “Interesting. An omega with a larger than average penis. What is this, three and a half… no, maybe, yes, maybe about four inches.”   
The doctor tugged on Eliot’s balls, fiddling and massaging at his plum sized scrotum. Nate’s stomach tightened when the doctor pulled lube from his pocket. Even with Eliot’s eyes barely open, their hitter sensed what was about to happen. He started to shift his weight against the restraints, growing agitated.

“Eliot, baby, stay calm. You’re doing so good. Be a good little omega and stay quiet now.” Sophie instantly started to card her fingers up and down his tense shoulders.

The omega wasn’t having it. His growls mingled with threats. The doctor raised an eyebrow at Nate before handing the lube to his orderly. He bent down, shinning his light over Eliot’s intimate parts. 

“This is quite interesting. There are absolutely no mating scars. Omegas usually have a few, and ones like him should have quite a few. Either he’s always won the domination game, or no one has ever attempted to knot him.” That sounded suspiciously like an accusation. 

“You said so yourself, doctor. Some omegas suffer from a fear of knots.” Sophie answered.

Eliot hissed and went tight, pushing his arms out as far as the restraints would allow, as if he could grab the very air and will it to push him away from the doctor. The doctor kept making small noises of peaked interest and Sophie kept pushing her fingers into Eliot’s tense muscles. 

“It was right of you to bring him here. We can offer more specialized classes for you.” The doctor stood up and sniffed the fingers he’d used to probe Eliot. After a couple seconds, he went to the sink and washed his hands. “I’ll have a full blood panel ran. An omega can’t stop their heats unless something more is at play.” 

Nate’s eyes drifted over his hitter’s body, willing himself to remember every fine scar, the way the muscle shaped his body, the size of his omega shaft that looked even smaller now that it was flaccid again. He wanted to know the taste of Eliot’s semen and slick.

“What specialists would you recommend for an omega with trust issues?” Hardison asked, rather pointedly. His agenda was clear, seeing as he had the most issues when it came to communication and general sharing of space with their hitter.

“We have topnotch programs for your omega,” the doctor remained vague as he pulled an insertion tube from a drawer and peeled open the plastic. He sat it down on the counter and pulled a plastic bladder from another drawer, also in a plastic protective wrap. “You’re going to see real results with our program. You’ll be glad you brought your problem to us.”

The issue didn’t reside with Eliot, but rather, the way Nate was feeling by the second. He didn’t like the doctor being invasive, but he had to fight the urge to bite the hand _helping_ them, because that meant his alpha persona was trying to take over. The one thing their hitter hated the most was alphas acting like alphas.

“What’s going on?” Parker asked, standing a little too close to the doctor and his equipment. Her fingers played at the side of the counter, but she didn’t reach for the things he laid out.

“We’re going to give your little omega a straight dose of semen fluid to help soften his rough, overly independent nature,” Doctor Tuomos answered. He opened the mini fridge, pulling out labeled plastic bottles similar to cheap picnic condiment bottles. It took about five minutes flat for him to empty all four bottles into the plastic enema type bladder. 

Sophia dug her nails into Nate’s arm and he looked at her with equal trepidation. He had no idea what he could say to stop this without it looking suspicious. Every passing second made his stomach turn until he knew he couldn’t waste another second fumbling with his thoughts. “I would like to keep this training natural.” 

“Most alphas do; however, it’s not supported here at the clinic. It takes too long for the omegas to adjust and often leads to excessive force. I did warn you and your family to wait outside.” There was a threat behind that statement. The orderlies shifted their weight, making the threat a little more obvious.

“Jesus. I don’t want to be in the same room as him when he wakes up.” Hardison mumbled when the doctor pulled out a stopper for the fluid.

The doctor carefully greased the edge of the tube while the orderlies came around the table, successfully backing Nate and his team up. If they fought, they’d be shoved out of the room and with Eliot unclaimed….

He refused to let his thoughts go in that direction. He lifted both arms in false defeat. “Gentlemen, we don’t oppose. We’re simply traditionalist and it’s hard to wrap our minds around certain clinical proceedings.”

“There is nothing to be concerned about, Mr. Ford. I have performed this procedure many times and omegas have returned to their alphas in a much better frame of mind for it.” The doctor slid the end into Eliot. Their hitter didn’t wake.

Nate gritted his teeth and privately wished that when Eliot had told him to leave the room, that he’d done it, because feeling helpless was horrible. It took maybe five minutes for the procedure and then the small cork went into their hitter. Despite what happened, Eliot didn’t look feminine for it. It didn’t change any aspect of him at all. 

 

oOo

 

“You don’t think he’s going to kill us when he wakes up, do you?” Hardison asked. 

Nate and Hardison kept Eliot balanced between them while Sophie and Parker pulled the threadbare, cotton sleep shorts on their hitter. Eliot barely stirred long enough to follow very few of their orders before his head fell back against Nate’s shoulder. 

Nate gritted his teeth until his jaw ached, then sighed. “We’re talking about Eliot, it’s going to be fine. I’m sure he’s been through worse.”

Their hitter had enough scars to prove things didn’t always go as planned. No one has ever tried mating him though, so this could end up being the worst experience of his life. He knew Eliot wasn’t keen on having a heat and they were putting him in danger of one. He didn’t trust the sperm enema wasn’t going to spark some kind of rage.

An orderly swung the door open and pushed the wheelchair inside. His smile was nothing, if not friendly. “I can take you to your room.”

Parker bounced up from where she’d placed slippers on Eliot’s feet. “I’m so glad you’re not stuck sleeping in here. There’s no space.”

Nate took full responsibility moving their very vulnerable hitter into the chair and securing the belt. The orderly walked them down the hallway where the open curtains allowed them to spy on other alpha families. The place felt like a suppressive prison.

“We’re not staying here with the other families?” Sophie asked. There was no tension in her tone as the actress played her part.

“No. Doctor Tuomos signed papers for your transfer to the PTSD ward.” The elevator door opened, and they filed in. It didn’t go unnoticed by the group that a security badge was needed before the numbers could be selected. Eliot remained blissfully unaware that they were heading in deeper. 

More secure doors meant it would be harder to navigate an escape. There wasn’t a growing sense of dread yet, but he could feel several impeding issues arising. “I thought this was a group therapy facility.” 

“This is good for your family, sir. The PTSD floor caters to severe cases. It wouldn’t be reasonable to put your omega with the general population seeking corrective surgeries, prenatal care, omega and baby workshops, and mild behavioral issues.” The orderly gently shifted Eliot’s head so it wasn’t at a painful angle. 

The elevator took them three floors underground before the door opened. There was only one floor left; the basement, which was usually a morgue at a hospital. With the shady events; it would need investigation. 

The orderly rolled Eliot’s wheelchair out and then Nate followed, inspecting everything from the gray carpet to the circular shape of the room. A nurse station sat at the center of the space. There were at least five large rooms, all with one door to enter and exit. Most of them had the curtains pulled open and no one was currently in the obviously, lived-in quarters. It looked and smelled like the clinic above them.

The California King bed had a white comforter and many pillows. It was large, but they’d all be stuck sleeping on their sides to accommodate their bodies. There was a bathroom to the side. The door remained open and a light inside illuminated the sterile space. 

There was a call button on the wall, a small table and dresser for their things and no television or mini refrigerator. Nate felt an oncoming headache. He managed to remain sober for a few months, but the fact that he felt trapped made him thirsty for something that could ease his anxiety. 

“There are nurses and orderlies on duty all night. They’re equipped with medication if you need it for your omega. You’ll get a list of classes, though a few will be mandatory. Three meals are served with your stay and you can get small snacks at the nurse station. If you have any more questions, please address them at the station.” With that, the orderly left.

Hardison whistled. “They’re going to expect us to share this bed and four of us don’t actually know how to properly subdue an angry, military trained omega who may or may not have served a few years as an assassin.”

“Don’t think about it Hardison,” Sophie ordered. 

“A trained black ops combatant whose skillsets include killing people with his bare hands,” Hardison continued.

“You think he’s going to be more upset about the bed than the butt plug?” Parker asked from her position where she kneeled over Eliot to unstrap the clip that kept him in the chair.

“Both of you can stop it.” Sophie growled, then swung around to fix him with her dark, all-too-knowing eyes. “He does have a point. Eliot’s a little more alpha than anyone here and one thing I know about alphas is that they don’t like their egos prodded.”

Parker snorted. “If that was the only thing prodded—”

“It’s all fun and games until Eliot wakes up,” Hardison scuffed, but went over to help Parker move their hitter from the wheelchair to the center of the bed. Together, they fussed about, making Eliot’s unconscious body look comfortable.

Nate nodded. He knew this was a huge issue.

 

oOo

 

Every muscle in Eliot’s body ached, but it didn’t feel nearly as stretched as his core.

Fuck!

He drew a hand over his face, which made him aware of two things; he was laying in bed and the girls flanked him on either side. Their presence didn’t placate his shifting anxiety.

The team, that depended on his skills and levelheadedness, saw him panic. They saw him forcibly restrained, drugged and….

He felt like vomiting. 

Heat radiated from a hand that gently squeezed his bicep. “How are you feeling?”

Eliot lifted on his elbows. The hand in question came from an arm draped over Sophie. Nate. “Like something is inside me.”

The slight movement confirmed his suspicions. He inwardly groaned. Did alphas struggle with seeing an omega unplugged? Was that their deal? See an omega and stick something in them?

Nate gave his arm another squeeze before letting go. “We’re inside. Hardison is going to start work on the database tomorrow and Parker is going to take a look down at the morgue.”

“I feel sick,” he admitted. And he smelled like the entire team, but it wasn’t just that. It smelled musky. He didn’t want to touch his body again until he showered. The only saving grace was that he didn’t actually hurt. 

“What kind of sick?” Nate propped himself up on his elbow, so he could see him better. The curtain crossed half the window-wall and did little to filter the light from the main hall. 

Eliot blushed and broke eye contact. “Not from a heat so don’t get your hopes up. I feel sick from the sedatives.”

Nate huffed and Eliot glanced over at him, realizing a second later that his leader was merely chuckling. At Eliot’s pointed glare, Nate shrugged, looking exhausted. “Can you get back to sleep?”

“I don’t want to sleep. I’m not comfortable with a bed full of alphas.” His ego was bruised, and he smelled like the end results of an orgy.

He crawled out of the bed without disturbing anyone, but it didn’t win him any space because Nate met him at the other side. “Are you going to vomit? Should I get something for you to drink?” 

His stomach flipped. Anxious. His omega brain was already overloaded. The last thing he needed was to look at Nate as a potential mate. “No.”

He started towards the bathroom when Nate’s hand caught his bicep, stopping him. The alpha’s heat went straight through his skin. He felt dizzy with the closeness and so awkward that he smelled like his lead’s spunk. It took everything in his willpower to be more than a blushing omega. He met Nate’s gaze hoping he didn’t exude submissiveness. 

“Look, I’m sorry about the plug. They were going to kick—”

Eliot raised a hand stopping him. “Why do you think I disappeared the first time, Nate? Save your guilt for someone who deserves it. I’m not a victim. I knew what was coming.”

And he still panicked. He hated himself for that behavioral reaction. All that army discipline thrown out the window the minute he was ordered to undress. He’d be better tomorrow. No more acting out. He’d soldier through this like he did with several uncomfortable missions. 

The second he closed the bathroom door, putting a barrier between the team and himself, he let his hand drop to his pelvis. There was uncomfortable cramping, nothing that needed medication, but it felt strangely familiar with ovulation pain. Thank God, it was a mere twinge and nothing daunting. 

He slid out of the thin hospital pants and turned the shower on. The floor was cold against his bare feet, but he welcomed it. His body burnt with embarrassment and discomfort. He turned the hot water on with the hopes of purifying his skin of the alpha scent; though he knew it was more a mental cleansing. 

The second he stepped into the shower and felt the burn of the water, he reached between his legs, grabbed the thick ring on the plug and pulled it from his body. The water did little to thin the thickness of the sperm that rolled down between him legs. He reached back with soapy fingers and tried to wash his puckered and sore hole. 

The sperm was thick and goopy, coating his fingers even though he tried to keep his butt open to the hot water. He was going to vomit. 

And that stupid, tiny omega brain of his kept circling around whose sperm it was. His team was inside him. Inside him!

Nate was inside him!

Nate—

Nate…. 

He shook the thought, even as his cock stared to grow less limp. He gritted his teeth, but there was no denying that he was a little turned on by this and a whole lotta confused. He never humored any notions towards sex with his boss. 

Nate was just the man who scored them their cases and brought in the money. Sure, the alpha at one time, managed to outmaneuver the entire team when he was on the up and up; when he’d been playing for the other side, the side that tried to make everyone adhere to the laws.

“It’s just the inner omega. That’s it. Easy enough to ignore.” Whispering these words out loud didn’t release an ounce of growing tension from his body. In fact, he was hard.

Harder still when he became laser focused on his leader. Nate was a smart alpha. Smarter than any of his prior bosses. The man knew how to pacify and handle him. And when he offered comfort, and Eliot took that comfort, he believed Nate’s promises. Believed him more than he’d ever believed in anyone.

A soft knock sounded on the door. “Everything okay?”

“Fine!” Damnit! A little discord and Nate was prowling around like a protective alpha…. No, boss. Nate would never try to be his alpha.

He wasn’t sure how long he stood in the shower and after that, lingered in the bathroom. He didn’t want to put his clothes back on because it still smelled like the team. The towel didn’t cover enough, from his chest down to his hips. He was being ridiculous, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of being overly exposed. 

“Breakfast, Eliot and people need to use the bathroom.” Concern laced Hardison’s tone. Great. Even their techie was being overly cautious.

At least he didn’t say _alphas_. The team didn’t define themselves as _his_ alphas, so no one was in the room with them. So why did he still feel nervous? Why did he want to get sucked down into the earth?

Because he knew he was feeling more omega now then he’d felt in his entire life. He wanted to hide his face against Nate’s neck. He felt weak!

He growled at his reflection as if that was a window straight to the core of his omega soul. “You have got to maintain yourself! You got to be their alpha, Eliot.”

He got dressed and dragged his feet out of the bathroom.


	5. Chapter 5

Eliot forced his chin up and shoulders back, meeting the looks thrown his way by the wayward crew of alphas. It felt like decades had passed since the first mission that sealed his fate with this group. There was doubt in those eyes. They didn’t trust he could do his job.

“Thank God! What were you doing in there besides stealing all the hot water!” Hardison growled like a young pup, slamming the bathroom door shut behind him.

His own means of privacy was now occupied. He acknowledged the rest of the team and tried to appear nonchalant. It would have worked better if he didn’t feel like he was now under a microscope. He couldn’t stand the way Parker stared at him; expressions shifting from science project to desert bar. Since entering the clinic, Sophie had been keeping an eye on him too. She’d look away when he glanced over, but now, she openly stared, with that motherly-platonic way of hers.

Nate sat on the edge of the bed flipping through a file he brought in his suitcase. He couldn’t remember a day he’d seen their leader anything but collected. Even now, with his hair ruffled from sleep and a day-old growth of stubble darkening his chin, he was preoccupied with their project. That calmed Eliot’s nerves. 

He shouldn’t have doubted Nate. Their alpha leader wasn’t like other alphas. He wouldn’t go dominant-master on his ass over something as small as a scent.

“Parker, you need to go. Now. We need you back before the first class which gives you less than two hours,” Nate said.

Parker sprung right off the bed like a gymnast and walked over to the table. She stripped out of her scrubs, exposing her skintight clothes underneath. She drew a backpack over her shoulders and gave him a wink that instantly warmed his stomach, before she climbed onto the table and hoisted herself into the vent. 

He eyed her scrubs, wondering if they’d fit him. He had a narrow waist and though he worked out, he wasn’t technically much bigger than a gym-rat beta. He couldn’t complete in body building competitions, but he wasn’t small like Parker.

“Showering defeats the purpose if I’m stuck wearing the same clothes.” His complaint didn’t get him even a glance from Nate. Sophie returned to whatever she’d been doing on the computer. 

Apparently, the alphas didn’t comprehend how annoying it was to smell like them. Nate was too busy going through his notes and Sophie softly hummed in thought. Eliot took a seat on the edge of the bed feeling utterly useless. It was a bad feeling for someone who was used to throwing their weight around. 

“Parker, make sure you film everything for reference,” Nate said to the empty room.

“We’re not going to know what any of this means. We’re not chemists or doctors, Nate,” Sophie lightly chastised.

“We have associates that can tell us what these chemicals do,” Nate assured her.

Eliot swallowed. He was utterly left out of this. Only bait. He knew that going in, but it still felt rotten. It felt worse than putting all one’s effort into a dish just to have a customer spit the food out. 

They had their communication devices in, which meant, he only had the privilege of half the conversations. He never thought they’d be in the middle of a con that he had such a non-valuable role in. Nate finally turned to him, right as a hard knock announced company before it was swung open and intruders entered; a nurse practitioner and two orderlies. 

Aggression instantly tightened Eliot’s muscles as he stood and took a step back. Nate instantly placed his lean self between them. The invaders had their full attention on him, ignoring Sophie quickly shutting the computer and pushing her coat over it. 

“Good morning, Mr. Ford. My name is Chou. I’m making the morning rounds to check on the omegas. It’s all simple technicalities.” The nurse practitioner sat his heavily filled caddy on the table. 

Everyone turned their attention on him as if he were expected to be okay with this. He wasn’t.

He held his breath and walked over to the nurse, eyes locked on the orderlies. They were big men. He almost welcomed the challenge. He wanted everyone around them to realize he wasn’t going to roll over on command. Something in Nate’s stern glare warned him against making a scene. 

Eliot inwardly huffed. He hated that Nate Ford, the smartest alpha he’d ever met, expected him to behave in this given situation. He hated it even more that he didn’t want to disappoint his leader.

“Go ahead and strip, then bend over and touch the bed.” The order was given as the man placed three filled syringes on the table, then one large bottle that was filled with milky-white fluid. The musky smell of spunk filled the small space. 

“Can’t do this. Nope. I’ll sit still for those shots, but not for—” He couldn’t finish the thought without dry heaving. He wanted to go on about the pure perversion of the situation; the very fact that his team, his little family of con artists and thieves   
_already_ had their sperm inside him—

Jesus. Their sperm was already inside him! 

Sperm was a chemical marker. It bound a relationship between an omega and alpha. It gave an omega an overwhelming desire to trust their alpha beyond all logic. 

Like him bending over simply because he got the _glare_ from Nate.

Fuck. This was messing with his head.

 

oOo

 

Eliot’s stone-cold persona was crumbling. Nate closed the space between them, catching Eliot when his eyes rolled back. It was a brief couple of seconds that allowed him to pull Eliot to the bed and onto his lap. 

Hardison came out of the bathroom, shoulders still wet from his shower, and scrub pants low on his waist, exposing his hip bones and lean muscle. He instantly crossed over to the bed. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“It’s alright. Eliot fainted,” Nate said, quieting the low growl he heard in Hardison’s question. Eliot was starting to come to, but his movements were slow. 

“I’ve done seen this show before, Nate. The guy wakes up swinging,” Hardison mumbled under his breath, as he took a seat on the edge of the bed beside them. His attention shifted to the two orderlies and the nurse. 

“It really is okay, Hardison. Sniff the air. There was no aggression.” He carefully chose his words. Eliot wasn’t fully aware, but to keep a future argument obsolete, he wasn’t going to accuse the hitter of being; frightened, overwhelmed or in any way panicked. 

Hardison sniffed the air over Eliot and calmed a fraction. Nate’s attention shifted from the hacker to Sophie who watched the situation with a finger taping at her lips. He hated how calm she looked when his heart slammed in his chest and the only thing he could smell was his hitter. He smelled so good; so ready to be mounted and claimed. 

Sophie remained at the table, standing now and ready to step in. She quietly watched all parties, willingly forgotten. It was important no one noticed the laptop she hid under the sweater.

Eliot’s eyes fluttered open. It took a minute before he started to squirm. “Nate?”

“Slow down. You’re okay. There’s no one to fight, omega,” Nate said, keeping a hold on his friend. Eliot was so warm, but not omega warm. The omega’s solid weight on his lap made him feel a fraction more possessive than he had a right to be. It made him all-to-aware of a desire that he thought he had better control over. 

His hitter righted himself. “I’m not taking any more alpha spe—” 

Eliot cut himself off. Their hitter blushed and ducked his head. It was merely a second and when he met Nate’s eyes again, there was no indication he was embarrassed by this. He tried to stand, but Nate wouldn’t allow it. 

“You’re doing fine. You’re doing great.” He’d cuddled his wife like this, when they lost their child. Eliot’s eyes had that same spooked reflection, like his world had turned upside down. Maybe he was witnessing the very edge of their hitter’s resolve. 

“I don’t have time for this,” the nurse practitioner warned.

Nate slid his hand from Eliot’s waist down under the rim of his pants and slid the fabric down. “Stay still.”

“Hell no.” Eliot tried to lunge off his lap, but Hardison caught him by the arms and Nate tightened his hold on his younger operative.

Eliot’s military training made it difficult to gain control. They had to wrestle Eliot to the bed, which left Hardison on the bottom. Hardison had one arm wrapped around their hitter’s waist and the other hand cupped the back of Eliot’s head, pressing his nose into his neck. 

Nate laid on top of them with one leg pressed down between both of their legs, forcing Eliot’s legs open. “You got him?”

“Yeah man, I got him,” Hardison sounded exhausted, but there was a tiny hit of pleasure. He hugged Eliot a closer, his hand sliding a little lower to hold Eliot by his lower back. 

“We don’t have a lot of time for this either, doc.” Nate felt determined not to sound as breathless as he felt. To make matters worse, having this hot, solid body rubbing against him, made his shaft heavy and full.

“I got’chu, Eliot,” Hardison’s voice rumbled with comfort. “Breath deep and easy.”

“Stop it!” Eliot growled, but his fight was gone. In seconds flat, his eyelids grew heavy, like he was stoned. 

It gave Nate a chance to really appreciate the solid piece of work under him; all the sculpted muscle. He shoved his hitter’s pants even lower, exposing his hip and ass. 

It wasn’t like Eliot didn’t smell like an omega. Even showered, he smelled like an omega, but pulling his pants down exposed the beautiful omega pheromones to the air. Nate tried not to suck in the scent, but he found each breath he took, long and calculated.   
It was such an alluring smell. 

His hitter didn’t move, not even when his hip was swabbed clean with alcohol and then the shots were pressed into his muscle. Nate tried to focus on the doctor, but his eyes roamed down the form he held tightly too. If he moved his fingers up a fraction, he could touch the underside of Eliot’s testicles. 

God! He hated having to be the one in complete control. 

“I need to take his temperature,” the nurse came back to the edge of the bed with a thermometer. 

Eliot started to wiggle and Nate adjusted his body so he could press one hand on top of Eliot’s back, forcing him to lay still. “It’s okay, baby. Stay still. You’re fine.”

Eliot’s fingers dug into Hardison as he tried to push up and back. “I can do this myself. I don’t need you.”

The words stung. “I’m sure you can, but we can’t leave anything to chance.”

If Eliot panicked, they wouldn’t be able to get the upper hand without a fight. It had the potential of harming quite a few people involved, including Eliot. He might be okay for the thermometer, but there wasn’t a chance in hell he would let the sperm-enema go inside. 

“I see he removed his plug. Nothing to be ashamed of, Mr. Ford. Many of the troubled omegas here make it difficult on their nests. I’ll have a pair of cuffs brought in.” The nurse pushed the thermometer through the rim of muscle with no protest. The glass was too thin and slick to have trouble.

Eliot still hissed and his lower muscle tightened, making his ass cheeks round with the dimple of muscle on the sides. Nate wanted to lean down and bite the flesh. He hadn’t realized how intense his intentions were until Sophie gave a little cough. It was a wakeup call. He was entranced. 

“That won’t be necessary. My omega won’t remove the plug again,” Nate promised. He hoped more than anything, that his tone was still neutral. 

Eliot didn’t need him. Their hitter had said that since day one and it’d never been different. 

But in truth, he knew it wasn’t completely true. 

The nurse tsked his tongue. “Temperature is still low for an omega. This is highly unusual. The hormone injections should be kicking in. He might have a few side effects from the high dosage. Be observant if he complains about excessive thirst, if he starts to get clammy, has migraines, seizures or if he starts to show signs of slick, but there is no smell to it. You need to inform the nurses immediately, so they can put him on observation.”

The man readied the sperm enema and Eliot didn’t move. He looked like a statue, the tension made every muscle hard and rippled. He was beautiful. 

There was no prep for the tip of the nozzle. The only comfort Nate got from this, was that it was smaller in width than Sophie’s pinkie, but the tube was long so it would stretch all the way up into Eliot’s uterus. His hitter hissed and held his breath, hands twisting into the sheets for balance or to keep from punching someone. His face was completely masked by his hair as he dropped his chin another inch into Hardison’s neck. 

Eliot mumbled something, but the words were gravelly and low; the ramblings of someone who was trying to keep it together. Nate watched the nurse squeeze the bladder, slowly emptying the contents into Eliot. The smell of alpha spunk filled the air.

Eliot was marked. Their hitter smelled like their team and now he had their spunk inside him. His alpha howled for him to push the nurse back and finish this the proper way, with a latched knot and teeth marking every square inch of this man’s shoulders.

The omega wasn’t his.

The nurse pulled the enema tubbing out of their hitter and placed another starter plug into his rear, before adjusting the tiny bulb. It was nothing like a knot, so Eliot really wasn’t getting properly stretched for sex. That should be a blessing, right? That the hospital wasn’t trying to press a true knotting, but he remained leery of their situation. 

The nurse placed the enema equipment into a medical bag before tucking it back into his caddy. He pulled out another syringe and handed it to Nate. “Give this to him thirty minutes from now. There is nothing to worry about Mr. Ford. We will get your omega’s hormone levels to normalize.” 

With that, the nurse left them alone in the room with a very groggy, slow moving Eliot.

“That was a god-damn sedative Nate!” He growled. “You can let me go Hardison. There’s no one left to punch except you!” 

Nate untangled his legs from his hitter’s and sat back. Hardison was just as slow. With a sigh that clearly spoke of full annoyance, he let him go. Their hitter scooted off the edge of the bed but caught himself while trying to pull up his scrubs. 

Eliot’s shaft was hard and clothes couldn’t hide his apparent arousal. It was unfair to think that though. Omegas, especially ones with alpha-complexes often were aroused by dominance. And God! His smell was delicious. It made more than Nate’s mouth water, which lead him to quickly stand up and cross over into the bathroom.

 

oOo

 

“It’s not a morgue,” Parker announced. Her voice was so perky over the earbud, that Nate could almost picture her ponytail bobbing as she powerwalked through the lower level. It wasn’t the sounds he could pick up, but rather the way her voice raised with inquisitiveness. 

“Details, Parker,” Sophie gently chastised, one dainty hand at her ear, head cocked downward. She pushed food around her plate but hadn’t taken a bite since they were served twenty minutes ago.

“It’s a lab. There’s a lot of science things down here, along with a breeding bench and cages. It doesn’t smell like breeding though. There aren’t any omegas present.”

Nate glanced over to where Eliot waited on his knees with his hands clasped behind his back. He was naked like the other six omegas. He kept his chin down, face nearly covered by his long hair. He looked beautiful there; washboard abs, pectoral muscles, the corded muscle in his shoulders and down his biceps. His thighs were thicker than the other omegas, all muscle that made him a predator, an omega with an alpha mentality.

His flaccid cock looked small, due to the extremely cool temperatures and the uncomfortableness of their situation. His dark curls were neatly trimmed, giving a distinct view of his inner thighs. 

Being an alpha to someone like Eliot—

Well, it wasn’t something just anyone could walk into the role of. Eliot needed someone who could literally put him in his place when his omega needs warred with his alpha tendencies. 

“I think something really bad is happening down here,” Parker’s tone drew him into the present. 

His bitter coffee had gone cold a while ago. The grease on his two slices of bacon had congealed and the toast was burnt. It was a far cry from what they usually ate in the morning when Eliot cooked.

“What’s so funny?” Sophie glared holes in him.

He shook his head, surprised he had laughed out loud. “Sorry. It’s nothing. Just exhausted.” 

“I’m in the system,” Hardison announced, then made a low whistle. “Looks like there are a number of encrypted files hiding within files. If we were back home, I could get an answer for you, but my dinky little laptop is going to put us back by a day or two.”

“This is going to be our last night, so you need to work faster,” Nate warned. 

He glanced over at Eliot. Butt-naked, thighs slightly open to keep balance. They’d been kneeling like this for twenty minutes and everything inside him said Eliot could go longer. His little soldier. His little warrior-boy. His little omega—

Not his omega! 

Not his omega. 

He had to remember this. Very important, even if his ragging hard shaft said differently. 

“Nate?” Sophie’s hand closed over his wrist, expertly gaining his full attention. “They aren’t going to believe you’re a buyer if you’re too afraid to touch him.” 

“Don’t want to burst your bubble Nate, but it probably won’t be tonight if we have to keep showing up for those stupid classes,” Hardison’s deep voice rumbled over the earpiece. Twenty minutes into breakfast and the orderlies didn’t question why two nest mates were absent. 

“We should train him, without the orderlies,” Parker absentmindedly commented.

Nate glanced over at Sophie who gave a curt shake of her head. “I’ve been trying to explain this to her. We aren’t actually taking ownership.”

“There’s a color-coded chart by the door. Eliot’s name is on it,” Parker said.  
Nate shifted in his chair, forking grits into his mouth and watching Eliot nod off and jerk awake. They couldn’t stay like this too long. Eliot’s fatigue concerned him.

“There’s a small fridge down here. Sending pictures,” Parker stated.

“I’m not a chemist. These ingredients mean nothing to me, and just because it’s labeled, doesn’t mean this is what’s correctly mixed inside the vials. We might need a chemist and I can’t imagine that’s going to speed our situation,” Hardison said. 

“Get creative. I’m going to need the both of you in here in ten minutes,” Nate warned. 

As the rules stated earlier, he ate first and then stood. Time to retrieve his hitter.

He walked straight over to Eliot with his crotch level to his hitter’s face. There was no reason to deny that his body was reacting to the omega pheromones. It’d be stranger if he wasn’t hard. He pressed his fingers through the omega’s hair, wrapping the soft strands around his fingers and forcing Eliot to tilt his head. 

Eliot’s jaw tightened when he gritted his teeth. The muscle in his shoulders hardened. He was ready to throw punches; until Eliot took his first deep inhale of his sex pheromones. 

He drew Eliot’s cheek up against his hip. “Time to eat, kid.”

Eliot’s breath hitched and for a brief second, his eyes fluttered shut and he did something utterly unbelievable. His hitter brushed his cheek over Nate’s hardness. It was as close to scenting as he’d ever played with the feral creature in front of him. 

He caught Eliot’s arm when he stood and swayed. He took the excuse to pull Eliot up against his side and their hitter allowed it. His pupils were blown, eclipsing his irises. He looked gorgeous like this; his hair a mess and his body entirely exposed. A blush lingered across Eliot’s flustered face. 

With a hand on Eliot’s shoulder, he directed his hitter to kneel on the floor between his legs. It forced his hips wide to accommodate Eliot’s fairly wide shoulders. He couldn’t imagine his hitter as a smaller man. Eliot had never been small a day in his life.

He kept one hand in Eliot’s hair, massaging his scalp. Eliot kept his jaw firmly shut, but he tilted into the touch and everything inside Nate screamed this wasn’t an act. Eliot was high on his scent, the sedative and no doubt the sperm that quieted his inner omega. 

“You wouldn’t be thinking about handfeeding me, would you Nate?” Eliot growled with his chin resting against his thigh. His posturing was nothing more than show at the moment. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Nate said, holding a piece of toast with egg on it. “But eating would be beneficial to the mission.”

“This doesn’t mean I’ll beg for it, old man.” Eliot glared at him, before dropping his eyes.

He brushed his thumb along Eliot’s rugged jawline to his mouth, pressing the pad of this thumb against Eliot’s lips. Eliot opened his mouth, allowing Nate to push his thumb in. At first Eliot just stared at him, then he sealed his lips around his digit and sucked.   
The nip came last. A warning.

Nate nodded. Humored. He withdrew his finger and tried again with a piece of toast he ripped apart. Eliot opened his mouth this time and took it; all teeth and rumble. They were playing a dangerous game.

“We do highly recommend you all take advantage of our one-on-one heat sessions that are part of the care package, including a drug-controlled heat. This is a huge benefit for the few of you that have yet to secure the bonding process.” A female nurse dressed in cartoon print scrubs stood in the middle of the room making her announcements. 

Eliot bristled. “It’s going to take more than an ecstasy pill to get me to roll over.”

Nate didn’t glance at his hitter until the doctor and orderlies were distracted at the nurse station. “Let’s hope we’ll get what we need before it gets to that point.”

“Each nest has a list of their morning seminars. Please go to the proper rooms.” An orderly released them from the dining hall. The nests stood, and the room felt crowded with bodies slowly making it out the door and into the hallway. 

“Okay team, everyone is needed for the….” Nate looked at the paper Sophie handed him. This couldn’t be right. “Cuddle class?”

Eliot was on his feet in seconds, one hand over his pelvis before he let it drop away. “I want clothes and I want them now!”

“Calm down,” Nate said. In such proximity, he could feel the nervous energy like static, ebbing off his hitter’s body.

“We’re drawing attention,” Sophie said. Her voice was louder coming through the device in his ear, though she obviously whispered it. 

“Parker, what’s your location?” Nate asked. 

Hardison came into the dining room and grabbed a piece of toast from the buffet. He strolled over and gave Eliot a knowing smile before he threw him lacy boy shorts that were cut small. “Thought you’d want something clean after this morning.”

“This is _not_ acceptable, Hardison!” Eliot growled, keeping one hand down over his cock and balls. The panties were fisted in his other hand, the fabric completely hidden by his grasp, showing how little fabric was there. 

“Hey man, this was all they had.” Hardison’s smirk spoke differently. 

“Here!” Parker announced through the com as she rounded the corner.

Eliot’s glare darkened, even as the orderlies came over to them. One was a man clear over six foot in height and had the weight to bring any sized omega and even maybe an alpha down. The orderly wore crisp white scrubs and soft blue booties over his shoes. The place was nothing if not sterile.

“Everything okay, Mister Ford?” the orderly asked. His beard was neatly trimmed, the soft red bristles gave color to his pale cheeks. His smell remained neutral, smelling like everything else in the building, lavender with a hint of mint.

“Yes. We’re heading to the therapy room now,” Nate answered. Despite the small plug in his channel, some of the wetness drizzled down Eliot’s inner thigh. 

“We can issue another sedative for your omega, unless you’d like a knotted-dildo.” The orderly walked off before Nate could tell him no.

Nate took that second to crowd Eliot. He pushed his entire body up against his hitter, boxing him against the wall. Eliot went still but didn’t push him back. Submission was not in Eliot’s nature. He was falling into a vortex they couldn’t afford him to be in.

“Want to be spanked, Eliot?” Nate whispered against his ear. 

Eliot shuddered and tilted his chin ever so slightly. His clean hair fell over his face, almost dry now since his super long shower. “I want to go back on my suppressants and blockers.”

“That’s never going to happen, kid. I care about your health even if you don’t,” Nate dropped one hand to Eliot’s bare hip, where muscle and bone were an interesting combination. He was a lean man. 

“Nate.” The word came out too breathy to be a warning. “I don’t like being touched.”

“This class is going to be a little uncomfortable then.” Nate had drawn the line in the sand. That said line, he now toed as he pressed his hardness against Eliot’s. 

Eliot gritted his teeth and groaned. “Parker.”

“What about me?” Parker was suddenly there, in the bubble Nate had created. She stole the moment. 

Eliot looked from Parker, back to him. His seriousness made his voice whisky rough. “Parker does the therapy and I won’t fight it. No one else can touch me.”

His bottom lip was swollen from being worried between his teeth. It begged for a kiss. His whole demeaner begged for an alpha’s attention. 

It was apparent that he was scared; scared of submission, scared of actually wanting to submit. Parker was the less aggressive of the team, less likely to make his omega instincts react. 

“That will look suspicious.” He drew his hand behind Eliot’s body to touch along his spine down to his lower back. There was still no body heat, nothing to prove he was an omega, except his scent.

“I can’t do this. I can’t even breathe,” Eliot complained. The blush was back. He looked frustrated. He needed release.

“When was the last time you orgasmed?” Nate asked.

Eliot’s eyes narrowed. His shoulders and jaw went tense. “A little too personal for business, Nate.”

“The orderly is coming,” Sophie warned.

Nate drew both arms around his hitter’s waist and pulled him into a kiss. The Eliot a couple weeks ago would have shoved him back and punched him. This Eliot sighed, opening his mouth to deepen the kiss. His demeaner was still rough, still uncertain, still unwilling, but this was an improvement. 

Eliot’s hands came up, grasping the edge of his shirt, but not pushing him away. In fact, he tilted his head offering more of his throat for consumption as Nate moved from his jaw down to his throat. Nate suckled at his pulse and felt the tension ease from his hitter. 

“Do it, Nate.” His voice was rough; borderline begging. Eliot rutted against him, hard and dripping precome. His scent burned a path through Nate’s nose and into his brain, reminding him how connected they already were. 

“Nate,” Sophie dug her fingers into his shoulder, successfully breaking the trance. “The orderly.”

It was difficult to let Eliot go, but he stepped back. His omega looked trashed. His eyes were half lidded and his shaft was at full mass. All of it was hard and ready for service. A small fraction of his brain must have been working because he dropped his hand down to cover himself. 

Eliot didn’t ask. He didn’t fight. He simply allowed Nate to put his arm around his waist and pull him along. 

And God help him. He really liked this placated Eliot.

All that bare skin made him painfully aware of his chubbie. Sophie, Parker and Hardison stood at the exit of the small dining room, mouths open. 

Eliot didn’t complain about his nudity. Not right away.

Hardison crowded in as they walked. “I didn’t have a great deal of time to analyze what Parker sent, but from the older client list, the omegas highlighted in yellow were the ones that were victimized.”

“So we have a path we can follow. That’s good. Get what information you can from this, anything that can support the shutdown of this operation,” Nate said. 

“Nate,” Hardison stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. They all turned to address those studious dark eyes. “Eliot’s name is highlighted yellow. I don’t think we have time on this one.”

“I’m here aren’t I? Don’t make this whole operation in vain, Hardison. Do what you have to do so I can go home,” Eliot growled. He almost sounded normal. Almost.

“You’re going to become bait, if we stay,” Nate warned.

Eliot waved the concept off, glancing over at Sophie for a brief second. “I can handle it. I’ve been through worse.” 

“Is there a way to get a bug in the nurse station and the private offices. I want to know what’s going on behind closed doors.” Nate answered.

“I’ll work on it, but we aren’t talking about an easy operation. This place is crawling with cameras and there is always a nurse at the station, even at the dead of night.” Hardison whispered. They walked into the small room. Only two other nests were present for class.

A little blond beta stood in the room with her long white medical coat on. “I’m Doctor Merx. I’m going to have everyone disrobe now. Touch is often a main issue for feral omegas.” 

Nesting groups found their pillows and took up their space on the floor before Nate’s nest even slid out of their scrubs. Despite the neutral scents being piped in along with the cool air keeping everything impartial, the room immediately started to smell like the different nests. Nate sighed at the oncoming headache. 

“You okay, boss?” Parker asked. Her legs were crossed. Her hands rested on her kneecaps. She looked too innocent for this with her high, blond ponytail that it bobbed with every slight movement she made. Her eyes were large, watchful. Her boobs were perky and small. Her bush wasn’t trimmed leaving wild, blond curls. 

“Fuck. I’m not playing this game,” Eliot hissed, rubbing at his temples with his legs drawn up against his chest where he sat. Hardison sat to his other side, semi-mast too.

Sophie stood, long, tan legs, narrow waist and c-cup breasts with quarter sized areolas. She was on the slender side, something that often couldn’t be said about all alpha females. 

“I think he’ll have a panic attack if we keep going at this rate,” Sophie whispered, her British dialect clipped and elegant.

“I can hear you,” Eliot grumbled. His hair was in his face again as he glared up at them. His pupils were dilated, and he still clutched at the panties Hardison had thrown him. 

Nate scooted down behind Eliot, his legs open and arms ready to pull his omega back against his chest like the other nests were attempting to do with their feral creatures. “I’d tell you to choose a safe word, but I don’t think that will help you here.”

Eliot scooted back so hard that his elbow winded Nate, a small reminder at who was trained for combat, if the scars weren’t enough. “There’s no safe words in war, Nate. Nothing stops the torture. I can handle this.”

“I don’t want this to turn into a real battle between us.” Nate wrapped his fingers into his hitter’s soft hair and gave him gentle encouragement to drop his head back. Nate brushes his lips against his hitter’s cheek, really wanting to go for his throat again. 

“I hardly see you as a threat.” Eliot mumbled, but it wasn’t true. Nate could feel the way his body hummed with nervous energy. 

“We need a bug on that orderly.” Nate said. The orderly in question was one that he’d seen repeatedly, go into the offices of Doctor Jamie Trent. Maybe he was the head nurse for that doctor. There was so little time to verify what he knew from the case.

“Can do. It’ll look less suspicious if we call him over here. We need a distraction.” Hardison handed something to Parker. 

The movement was so small that an untrained eye wouldn’t have noticed. Despite himself, Nate glanced up at the ceiling, looking for a camera. Past experiences had lead him to never trust a given situation and with omegas disappearing, it was easy to say they must have eyes on Eliot.

Eliot jerked his hair out of his face. “No cameras, Nate, but most of the orderlies present have military training.”

“Is it their haircuts?” Nate had noticed they were all military grade.

“And the way they walk. It’s a very distinct walk,” Eliot grumbled. He kept his legs closed and one hand over his shaft, attempting modesty. There was nothing to take the hitter’s mind off their situation. 

“There are certain places your omega will not like being touched. You live with them. You already know those places, so let’s work up to this. Start with safe zones. This is about repetition and facing fears of intimacy.” Doctor Merx spoke at the center of the room, turning slowly to observe the nests.

Parker ran her hand up Eliot’s shin and he shoved her back with his foot. Not as hard as he could, but enough to throw her off balance.

“Don’t even think about it Parker. I’m not comfortable with any of this,” he growled, not exactly fighting the fact that Nate had his arm wrapped around his stomach and that he was up against his boss. He was grasping though. 

“So where do you want me to touch you? Is your foot okay? Can I touch your toes?” Her narrowed eyes said she was getting impatient. 

“Jesus. This is too close.” Eliot’s outburst quieted the room. He started to squirm and Nate caught him, pulling him even closer to his body.

“You’re okay, kid. You’re okay,” Nate tried to sooth him with a warm bear hug that encompassed Eliot’s entire body. 

“I’m not spending an hour feeling your kn—”

“Mr. Ford,” the orderly, the man that had been watching them, leaned down. His smile was friendly. He was a young thirty-year-old with short hair and a boyish smile. Nothing about him was threatening. “My name is Craig and I’ve been reading your case file. I wanted to check in and see how everything is going.”

Eliot tried kicking at the orderly and Nate held him firmly by the wrists while Hardison cupped Eliot’s ankles, giving him no room to move. His hitter struggled until Nate guided his hitter’s nose and pressed it against his neck. He couldn’t believe how receptive Eliot was. 

“Everything is fine.” It was hard not being short with the intruder. Knowing that they were on a watch list made all this worse. 

“Your chart says your omega has had a mild anti-depressant administered this morning. I can give him a very low dose of a sedative to help with his nerves,” the orderly offered. 

Eliot’s breathing remained steady, almost quiet. He wasn’t moving, but this was no doubt Eliot’s fight mode. “Nate?”

Nate loosened his hold and Eliot shifted so his nose wasn’t against Nate’s neck, but he let his head remain rested against his bare shoulder. “Not this time. I want to break him in the old fashion way; blood, sweat and tears.”

The orderly laughed and capped the syringe. “I’ll have the doctor visit you tonight. You’re on the waiting list for a guided medical knotting.”

“It’s not going to happen! I’ll rip the throat out of any alpha who tries!” Eliot started to shift against the arms that held him down, forcing Nate to yank him back in.

“Thank you,” Nate was quick to dismiss the orderly. The man immediately stood, taking his strange neutral scent with him. Nate turned his attention on Eliot. Their small group had condensed in that given tiny space. No one smelled neutral now. 

“I want to run that man’s head through the wall,” Eliot growled against Nate’s chest. The threat was gone, but his hitter remained against him and he understood why. This was comfortable. 

“You might get your chance, but I don’t want to stick around here too long.” Every minute there was a risk that they would be separated from their hitter. Another nest wouldn’t understand the hitter like they did. The new nest wouldn’t know that Eliot had certain traits that weren’t flawed in the least, despite not being traditional. 

Eliot was having very hard time breathing. “Nate, I swear. Dominance games make me—”

“Aggressive?” Parker leaned in so close that the top of her head grazed Nate’s chin. Her large eyes observed Eliot as she tentatively reached over and stroked Eliot along his temple. 

“Something like that,” he whispered.


	6. Chapter 6

Hardison tapped the edge of his pen against the tabletop and his other hand nearly enveloped the computer mouse. “It looks like every file I could find for the past five years, did have the names highlighted in yellow too. There are several reported omegas going missing after the clinical stay. Nothing is a substantial link to put Jamie Trent away.”

Nate pushed his hand through his hair and found no comfort in the motion. The familiar twinge that came with a desire to drink, started to chip away at his resolve. He doubted the hospital had a bar. 

“Okay. Gather what you can on the medications and the blood screening and send them to our contact, then start looking through every account Trent ever made, search for facial recognition, online forums, look for a grocery list if you have to. If he’s somewhere he shouldn’t have been, with an omega he shouldn’t be with, I want a copy of that.”

Eliot caught his arm when he started out the door. The two hours of quiet in the space of their room with the curtains closed had been beneficial for their hitter. He looked himself, if not a little more annoyed. “Tell the front desk you want to have the medical knotting.”

“No.” He didn’t have to think about it. There was no way he would push Eliot that far.

“I can handle this, Nate. They aren’t going to have a file with everything they’re doing. Once they put the liquid in my system, Parker can steal the syringe.” Eliot appeared sold on this horrific notion.

“I can’t do that.” If that wasn’t the hardest thing to say. It went against the very real feelings he had for Eliot. His hitter was family. He couldn’t stand the idea that if Eliot went into heat, his alpha mind would flip that switch in a second. He’d take Eliot. The kid would be claimed. 

Eliot went tense, his attention faltering to Nate’s shoulder for a second before looking back up at him. “You asked me to do this because you know that I’m the only omega that can take what’s coming and walk away from it unscathed.”

That wasn’t true though. Even if Eliot couldn’t see it, the truth was, their hitter was feeling the psychological effects. If being an omega wasn’t an ordeal, he never would have taken AlpFen873C and BondEXC7821. Eliot was petrified of his second gender. 

“We’re going to do what we need to do, but from a safe distance. We can’t stay here.” And once they were home, he would insist Eliot see a therapist. 

Eliot pushed his weight up against the door, hands at his sides, flat against the wood. “We came to take Jamie Trent down. He’ll target another omega if I’m not here. It’s better if it’s me.”

“Damnit Eliot! Have you even considered what you’re suggesting? Stop for just a moment and think this one out. What is going to happen once the liquid is in your blood?” He lowered his tone, afraid an orderly would walk past the door and hear.

“I didn’t get off my medication to play house for a week. Setup this knotting so we can get a syringe and nail his ass,” Eliot growled. His chin remained tilted upward, a sure sign that he was only irritable and not aggressive. 

It didn’t stop Nate’s anger from soaring through the roof. He took Eliot’s wrist and forced his omega’s hand up against the cotch of his scrubs. To the hitter’s credit, he didn’t try pulling away. His pupils widened a fraction, eclipsing the softer hues. Eliot’s hand instantly warmed Nate’s alpha shaft, not that he needed it any warmer down there.

With his free hand, he boxed Eliot up against the door. “You like taking chances. I understand, but I swear to you I’m as predictable as day and night. If I smell you in heat, this is going to go straight in you and I will claim you Eliot. Do you still want to fly that close to the sun?”

Eliot opened his mouth, drawing Nate’s attention to his lips. He wanted to kiss the omega compliant, but he knew in his heart, Eliot wouldn’t backdown from this job. “Okay.”

“Okay what?” Nate had to focus, but in the end, he was sure he wasn’t any better than the next alpha. 

“I go into heat….” He trailed off, his eyes dropping for a brief second before looking back up at Nate. “Claim me for the job.”

“This isn’t about the con, Eliot. You’ll be mine. I’m too old of a man to claim a very close friend of mine in heat, and then pretend it never happened. You will be my omega. No more medications, you’ll go into heats and I’ll be the one knotting you.”

It should feel wrong saying this, but he meant it. He lived way too long to skirt around issues and leave things unsaid. They would have to fix this as they go. 

Eliot swallowed hard and nodded. “Okay.”

 

oOo

 

The orgasm rocked through his entire body, bone deep and utterly pacifying. Until Eliot realized where he laid; in a bed with his team. 

He sat up so fast listening to the rapid beat of his racing heart. The room was dark, minus the light coming in through the thin curtains. The space around him smelled musky with his sperm and sweet from the wetness that soaked through his clothes. 

Damnit! Slick. 

He couldn’t remember the last time he dealt with it. Maybe when he’d first gone into heat as a child? His body felt foreign to him.

The alphas on either side of him didn’t move, but they were awake, laying far too still as if they were afraid to spook him. Too late. He was alarmed. 

And embarrassed as hell, because he was almost certain he woke up with a groan crawling its way out of his throat. 

He was certain the haze had nothing to do with the hormone shots. His brain couldn’t regulate the situation. He really needed to bury that dream, because he was certain it was Nate he went full _bitch_ for. 

He crawled out of the bed, grateful when no one stopped him. His shaft was hard. His balls were already drawn up and the way the fabric rubbed against his skin was a precursor that he was about to go another round. He barely stepped foot on the ground when hotness leaked from his hole and another orgasm rocked through his body, forcing him to take position. 

He gritted his teeth to keep from moaning. The orgasm was pure warmth. It rolled up his spine and down his limbs. It clouded his brain and all he wanted was a knot. “Please!”

The sound of his voice broke him. His alpha leader had come to the edge of the bed and Eliot now kneeled between the alpha’s spread legs. He swallowed hard, taking in the alpha musk that radiated from Nate’s scrubs. His massively, hard cock pressed against the thin fabric.

“It’s okay, Eliot, just breath. You’re okay.” Nate ran his fingers through Eliot’s hair, gathering it up and lifting it off the back of his hot neck. 

He kept breathing, angry that he’d begged. The pressure hit again, and he buried his face against Nate’s scrubs, nose and mouth pressed against the girth that wanted freedom from the thin fabric. The alpha kept his hair off his neck and his other hand rested on his shoulder. There was no force. No reason to believe this would end in sex. 

“What is happening to me?” He growled, when he could breath again. He lifted his head off Nate’s crotch, but only to rest against the alpha’s thigh. He smelled far too good. He smelled like friendship, safety, laughter and courtship. 

“Eliot?” Hardison sat beside him. He didn’t look at the hacker, but the man must have realized he was giving some strange form of consent because he touched Eliot’s lower back. “You’re not hot. Your body might be trying to fluctuate with the lack of suppressants in your system.”

He couldn’t believe how wet he was, both from orgasming in his clothes and the slick trying to soak a path to his sex. He needed to let Nate go and put distance between them before he really started begging… on all fours with his butt in the air. The thought made him shiver.

“We can’t be for certain this isn’t a heat. Like you said, Hardison, all those substances mixed in his bloodstream could affect his hormone levels.” Sophie said. 

The room remained thankfully dark, so he didn’t have to feign a brevity he didn’t feel. “I need this to stop, right now. I can’t… I just can’t—”

“Parker, go steal us a heat test, a heat kit and four bite guards,” Nate ordered. His hands felt far too hot to Eliot. He became ultra-focused on how Nate wrapped his hair around his fingers and how the other hand kept a firm grip on his arm, not allowing him to move away.

“Suppressants too,” Eliot growled. It took too much energy to talk. His body hummed with the vibration of his voice. This was somehow worse than dealing with the withdrawals, because at least with the withdrawals, he wasn’t begging to be pegged. 

“Nate, we’re not doctors, we have no idea if he can have suppressants with the hormone shots.” Sophie stood to the side with her one arm crossed over her waist. Her dark hair fell over her shoulders, ruffled from sleep, yet she was still immaculate.

“Agreed, no suppressants Parker. We can’t take the risk,” Nate answered, gently stroking at his scalp. Those fingers felt so good, probing all the parts of him he didn’t know needed touching. 

They talked around him like he was too naïve to be a part of the conversation. “It’s my body. I get to make the decisions.”

Did he want to move? He kind of liked it right there, which complicated things. No. This was bad. Real bad. Omega ready to beg for it, bad.

“It’s not happening, Eliot so you can give it a rest. We’re going to get through this. You have three extremely experienced alphas present.” And one naïve, inexperienced one, but Nate didn’t say that. 

“Why bite guards?” He was almost afraid to ask. He kept his heavy head in Nate’s lap. His blood felt like syrup slowly running through his system. He needed to be levelheaded. He needed to think straight. He needed those Goddamn suppressants!

Nate glanced down at him but didn’t answer. He was vaguely aware of Sophie pacing the small room and Hardison lingered right at his side. This was wrong.

The door softly clicked, and Parker’s scent filled the room with the small venture she took. “Got it.”

Eliot raised his head, watching as Hardison nearly tore the box with the heat strips, the heat meter and the lance. He barely felt the sharp blade that probed his finger. 

“There’s no elevation in the LH or the FSH hormone. It would be beneficial to check his temperature—”

“Try it, Hardison! I dare you.” Eliot growled. The young alpha only narrowed his eyes in response. Everyone smelled too good, too familiar. His stomach tightened, and he dug his nails into Nate’s leg as he rode out another orgasm that left him pushing his hips back against nothing. 

He gritted his teeth to keep from begging, but this was starting to hurt. His body coiled so tight and every orgasm, though surprisingly nice, wasn’t fulfilling. That alone, was starting to drive him insane. 

“He’s acting like he’s in heat,” Sophie said, finally coming closer, but she kept a hand on Parker, to force the socially awkward member of their group, back. 

“Yeah, suck it up buttercup, I’m tak’in your temperature,” Hardison said. 

Eliot tried to move back so he could swat at Hardison, but Nate’s hands tightened their hold and he gave a low growl; a warning to obey. Eliot’s breath caught in his chest. He couldn’t believe the effect that sound had on him. Instead of being pissed, he caught himself burying his face into Nate’s crotch. 

Nate had a massive and heavy shaft right there. The pure girth of it spoke volumes of desire through him. Desire he shouldn’t have for his lead. He respected Nate. He wanted respect too. He gritted his teeth to keep from opening his mouth to suck at Nate through the fabric of his scrubs. 

Fuck his life!

Hardison’s warm fingers pulled his scrub pants down over his hips. “I’m just gonna pull out the plug, okay?”

Eliot swallowed hard when his muscle willingly gave with a wet, sloppy squelch. A hot gush of slick rushed down his inner thighs into his scrubs. He immediately missed the space the plug took. His body felt empty without it. He wanted something, massive, heavy and hot as fuck shoved back up him. 

“You’re doing good,” Hardison praised. His large, warm hand rubbed reassuring circles over Eliot’s lower back.

A second later, the thermometer pressed into his channel. It made him all too aware that he needed sex. The thought surprised him, because he never wanted anything up him. 

And yet he rutted back against it and this time, the moan did escape his mouth. Nate released his hair, long enough to catch him by the back of the neck. The heat of his alpha hand, and the strength made him shiver.

“Easy now, baby boy. You’re doing fine,” Nate mumbled. 

Hardison pulled out the thermometer and Eliot bucked back, hating himself the second he realized he was crying for it. What suddenly replaced the thin thermometer was much thicker and somehow quieted his brain.

“Our boy’s not in heat. His low temperature isn’t normal for his second gender. I’ve been with my fair share of omegas and this ain’t normal.” Hardison remained close enough that his body heat encompassed Eliot.

“I second that,” Sophie said.

“What….” Eliot licked his lips feeling utterly drained. He couldn’t continue dealing with these endless tremors. He was so exhausted. “What’s in me?”

“It’s a very small dilator. You might not be in heat, but your anterior lobe is sending those signals to your brain. What I don’t understand is what kind of chemical can do this?” Hardison said. 

“God, no. This can’t be happening to me again. I don’t want this,” Eliot hissed. The orgasm wracked through his whole body. He spread his legs more and shifted his hips back. What he really needed was someone solid behind him. He needed to feel the heavy weight of balls slapping at his body as he rutted back against another human. 

“You need to do something about your situation.” Nate gently stroked his hand over his shoulder and down his arm. His other hand remained firm on the back of Eliot’s neck. 

He should be grateful that Nate had so much control. In fact, he felt his level of respect rise. He’d seen alphas go mad over the smallest scent pertaining to omegas, back in his service days. It was something he lowkey feared his entire life. There was Nate, an alpha he trusted above all others and the man was still keeping a level head despite their situation.

“Nate, I can’t—” 

“Not an option at this point. I don’t know what is going on with your body, but we’re going to treat it like a heat, okay kid,” Nate answered. 

Eliot opened his mouth to argue. A second later he realized his arguing was muffled as he tried to suck Nate through his pants. He was just so thick. So perfect. So alpha.

 

oOo

 

Nate threw his head back, lost in the heat of Eliot’s mouth trying to suck him. The situation was awkward. He focused on his breathing. He couldn’t let that alpha switch flip. 

“What’s the plan Nate?” Hardison sat at Eliot’s side, a firm hand on the hitter’s hip. The hacker was lightly drawing the dilator in and out of their hitter.

“It’s been three years since I’ve dealt with an omega in heat.” Nate admitted. The exhaustion came from not giving in to the very sick little omega between his legs, currently sucking on his engorged cock. That hot mouth felt so good. His knot was already semi-erect and ready to fully pop. If it did, he’d be coming up a storm. 

“Eight years for me,” Sophie admitted, sitting next to him and carding her fingers through Eliot’s hair. This pleased Eliot because he hummed against Nate’s cock.

“A year for me and it was fucking exhausting. We’re going to need protein packs and a hell-a-lot of water if we’re doing this Nate,” Hardison said.

“I’ve never done it. I want to do it with Eliot. I like Eliot.” Parker said, sitting on the table with her fists under her chin, fiercely observant.

Nate tried to stay focused, but Eliot’s mouth felt really good. It was clear their hitter was under the full influence of whatever drug was coursing through his system. 

“Parker, go get us water and protein bars. Let’s get our mouth guards in. Eliot can’t consent to any of this. He’s going to say things he doesn’t mean. And remember, when this is over, there’s a good chance he’s going to be pretty pissed,” Nate said. 

Sophie stuck a mouth guard in Nate’s hand. The thin, shapeless plastic felt heavy, though he knew guilt was the real culprit. At least he didn’t smell like an omega in heat. It was concerning but would help everyone involved keep a level head while dealing with their hitter’s issue.

“Okay. Here’s the plan. We are going to use knotted dildos and fresh sperm. We’re going to trick his body into thinking he’s getting knotted.” He inwardly sighed. With no heat scent, the orderlies weren’t aware of their little crisis. 

_Small favors, thank the Lord._

“Now’s not the time to be praying,” Sophie gently chastised when he crossed himself. 

“Old habits die hard during a moment of crisis.” Honestly, he prayed harder than he’d ever admit. His team needed a leader and sometimes, the situation was greater than him; like now. 

“He’s gone, Nate.” Hardison guided their hitter back to the edge of the bed, now naked. He held Eliot’s face in both his large hands, trying to get Eliot to open his eyes. 

Nate came to his side as Sophie flipped the light on. Eliot’s pupils were blown. His breathing was shallow. His slick lacked a scent and he was about as warm as a beta. Sophie offered Nate water and he uncapped the bottle. 

“I need you to drink now,” Nate said, sliding in beside Eliot. His hardness pressed into Eliot’s side and that seemed to be the only thing the omega was responding to, turning towards him like an extremely inebriated partier. 

“Come on now,” Hardison said, catching Eliot. It was a mess of limbs; Hardison had his arms wrapped around Eliot’s torso and Sophie had their hitter’s head back against Hardison’s shoulder. Water dripped over Eliot’s mouth, but mostly down Hardison’s bare skin. 

“I can’t tell how much he’s getting down,” Sophie said, giving up on the task. 

“He’s going to skin me alive for this,” Hardison whispered, giving Eliot a very gentle hug that drew the hitter closer to him, but he was still on guard, not giving their hitter any room to move.

“He’d probably just poison your food,” Parker quipped. 

“He’s not going to poison anyone. He knew what he was getting into when he agreed to do this.” Nate settled the argument as he reloaded a clean test strip into the meter and retested their hitter.

No hormone indifference. The kid wasn’t in heat. 

Thank God. If Eliot smelled like an omega in heat, he wouldn’t be able to stay level headed.

“Please. Please. Please. Please.” Eliot was breathless, voice rough as he pushed into Hardison. His hair was back in his face. A cold sweat had broken against his skin.

“You know he’s out of it. He’d never be begging me for this shit,” Hardison said, drawing their hitter closer, but not letting him get onto his lap. “How we doing this Nate? I mean, I’m all for helping our boy, but I don’t want to deal with the aftermath when this is over.”

“Oh yeah! He’s going to be so pissed,” Parker said. She had stripped down to nothing and sat back on the table, waiting.

“He’s not in heat. Technically, we _could_ try waiting this out.” Nate drew a hand through his hair and tried to breath. The room smelled too strongly of alpha interest.

Nate slid his hand down Eliot’s spine and the omega pressed back into his touch. He got to the base of his back. No signature omega heat. Nothing.

“Breed me. Please.” This wasn’t Eliot talking. It was the substance in his blood.

The omega looked up at him with heavy eyelids. He looked exhausted and already dehydrated. He’d orgasmed too many times for Nate to count. He smelled like sperm, sweat and underneath it all, the cook they came to know and love; the _real_ Eliot.

“We’re going to get you through this,” Nate promised. It wasn’t difficult drawing Eliot onto his stomach with his hips in the air. It was all speculation at this point, but if Eliot’s mind craved to be an obedient omega, they’d play along. 

Nate rolled out of the bed and crossed the short space over to Parker. The hospital issued heat kit was surprisingly full of selections. He picked through the items and found a dildo that knotted. The base was hallowed so sperm could be injected through a tube. 

He handed the empty shell case to Hardison. “Fill this up.”

Hardison stared at him for a second. “So, he smells like me when he wakes up? Great. Like that’s not going to cause any more strain to our relationship.” 

“We’re going to take turns.” Nate rummaged around for a much larger vibrator. It was about the size of his own shaft, but he had no intention of sticking it into Eliot. He handed it to Parker. “See if you can get him to suck on this.”

She took the dildo and crossed the room. She was far too interested in all this and he watched for a second as she pushed Eliot’s hair away from his face, opened her legs and held the dildo at her crotch as she scooted right in. With her free hand, she gently drew Eliot’s face down. “Come on, Eliot. Your alpha needs you to be a good boy and suck it.”

It didn’t take a lot of encouragement. Eliot couldn’t get more than a little past the tip, into his mouth, but he sucked with vigor and Parker gave hums of encouragement. Nate got up behind his hitter and pulled the plug out. Hot, clear liquid rolled down his inner thigh. It looked right, consistency and clearness, but it lacked the heat scent.

Eliot growled and pushed back at the empty air. Nate rubbed an encouraging circle with his free hand, over Eliot’s hip as he pushed the knotted dildo through the tight ring of muscle. Eliot hummed with contentment.

“Please. Please.” Eliot started begging again.

It was cut short when Parker placed her hand at the back of his head and guided his mouth back to the dildo in her lap. 

“Good boy, baby. You feel so good Eliot, so good,” Nate rumbled. His own shaft was heavy with blood. His knot was a little fuller with this beautiful visual. It wasn’t often an alpha had to fake sex and an orgasm, but this was a con on Eliot’s vulnerable omega mind. 

Hardison opened the bathroom door. “Here.”

Sophie jumped up from the bed, grabbed the tube and brought it back to the bed. Nate held the dildo while Sophie added the thin, plastic tubing that connected the two devices. The battery pack made this easier. 

“He’s never been knotted before,” Nate said, stopping the in/out motion with the dildo. 

Sophie dropped her hand over his and squeezed. “It’s all synthetic. Technically, this isn’t a knotting and we’re doing this so his brain will release the endorphins to give him relief.”

It still felt extremely wrong, like they were crossing a line and Eliot wasn’t in the frame of mind to tell them what he wanted. If he could, Nate was sure this wouldn’t be it.

He hit the switch and the machine was near silent as the knot started to inflate and catch at Eliot’s rim. Eliot pushed back desperate, forcing Nate to hold onto the hitter’s hips to keep him from spearing himself. Sophie reached under Eliot’s stomach and stroked his cock. He couldn’t see his hitter’s face with his hair a curtain. 

The orgasm was rough for all of them, because with the fake knotting, there was no way to really hold onto the fake apparatus and Eliot. The hitter continued rolling back. He should be growing drowsy, but he wasn’t. He continued moving with an energy that shouldn’t be there.

“This is fucked up,” Hardison said, coming out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and his raging cock managing to press against the fabric. “Shouldn’t an omega be asleep after that?”

“Yeah…. The omegas I’ve been with usually fell asleep,” Nate said.

Sophie looked just as bewildered, her eyes wide as she took them in. “Me too. My omega partners usually get compliant and go into a weird sort of omega slumber.”

“We’re not bringing in the nurses. We don’t know if this is because of them or if this has something to do with the drugs he’s still trying to get out of his system,” Nate answered. 

When the hollow tube emptied the last of Hardison’s sperm into Eliot’s body, Nate handed it off to Sophie. “Your turn.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm extremely surprised. This was a more popular pairing and idea than I honestly thought it would be. This story had just been something keeping me entertained, like most of the things I write, because I'm addicted to hurt characters. xoxo my readers! thank you for the kudos, comments and hits!!

Nate’s forearms ached straight into his biceps and through his shoulders, even after swallowing the over-the-counter pain reliever Parker so kindly liberated from the nurse station. Said achiness continued down his spine and into his thighs where he’d been holding the same strange positions to help relieve Eliot’s discomfort. 

For three _long_ hours. 

It’d taken three straight hours to get Eliot’s faux heat to subside long enough for their hitter to finally fall asleep. When he thought their situation would continue into the fourth hour, he almost ordered Parker to steal a sedative. Luckily, it didn’t go that route. He really didn’t want to force any more medication into Eliot’s system.

The kid was tough. He’d give him that. Lord knows, everything Eliot understood about survival came from the deepest pits of combat hell. He was a tough little cookie. So tough, in fact, that he was sure when Eliot’s sanities came back, he was going to beat himself up over his moment of vulnerability. 

“Damn, man! I haven’t been this exhausted or sore since Parker pushed me over the side of that building in her homemade rig,” Hardison hissed on the other side of Eliot, head on the pillow and one hand stretched over his stomach. “An alpha ain’t supposed to be this achy in the first three hours of an omega’s heat when you’re tag teaming the omega. It feels like we already went the entire couple of days without switching off.”

“Nothing about this was normal,” Nate answered. He stared up at the ceiling with one arm tucked around Eliot’s prone body. They were both covered in the entire team’s semen, and Eliot was sticky with cooled sweat. His hitter rested with his nose tucked up against Nate’s throat, breathing him in.

It was extremely intimate. Something a claimed omega would do to stay calm.

Bad thing was, it wasn’t for Eliot’s benefit that he _needed_ to stay calm. Nate or Hardison could force him to submit. As alphas, they had that advantage, but they’d probably still end up with something broken. Preferably, keeping Eliot at a tolerable mood would benefit all of them. They needed to rest too.

And for the first time in a long time, Nate had to admit that a situation might be beyond them. They might need outside help to keep their situation contained. The biggest issue with that notion was being stuck in a clinic where the only outside help would come from the very people they didn’t want near Eliot at that moment.

“Do you want me to go get anything?” Parker was the only one still lively. She sat on the table watching them like a guardian gargoyle, or angel. Her calculating side heavily shadowed over her innocence. She was a little too intense and a little too unpredictable. All his little thieves had a shadowy side, but working with Parker meant understanding every variable she could take any given situation.

“Plane tickets out of the country would be nice. I don’t want to be in the same state when he wakes up smelling like sperm.” Hardison shifted his legs over the side of the bed and stood, stretching. 

“It’s going to be okay.” Nate promised. He glanced down at Eliot curled against his side, one leg thrown over his, hand on his chest and head on his shoulder. The body heat that radiated between them was minimal in comparison to a real heat, but still overwhelmingly hot after everything they’d just done.

Nate didn’t dare move, though a dull ache had settled in his lower back. His legs went from tingling to numb. He was more concerned that any movement would wake Eliot before they had a chance to rest and hydrate. If they had to immediately do this again, they’d fail. It’d taken their entire family to fulfil their obligations well enough to make their hitter rest.

“I usually feel more accomplished after a successful mating. Instead, I’m exhausted and still restless,” Sophie admitted. Dressed in her scrub bottoms, she took a seat beside Parker. Both of them worked out, giving them lean stomachs, but Sophie had softer, rounder hips.

Eliot sighed. His breath warm against Nate’s bare skin. He drew his hitter a little closer. He never considered himself extremely possessive, but at that very moment, he knew any orderly that tried walking into the room would face alpha aggression. 

“I feel it too, but I think it’s because we didn’t actually knot him. Our brains are hardwired like that,” Hardison answered as he crossed over to Parker and took the proffered water bottle.

Nate listened to his crew chatter, vaguely aware that they took turns showering and that Parker had snuck back out with their dirty clothes to exchange them with clean scrubs. Walking down the hall with scrubs covered in sperm would still alert the orderlies to the mating. 

In their space, Eliot’s scent radiated through the mixed scents. In an alpha world, this was perfect. 

The omega. The nest. The safety of a den—

A gentle hand touched his shoulder. Sophie now had her wet hair drying around her shoulders. “Nate, it’s a quarter to seven. The nurse is going to come in with the medications.”

He sighed and ran a hand over his face and felt the sharp cry of strained muscle. “Okay. Sophie, go out and see what you can do to buy us time. Parker, hide the kits. Hardison, help me with Eliot.”

Hardison was suddenly there, one leg on the bed, the other on the ground. He lifted Eliot off him and to his surprise, their hitter didn’t wake. What a great time for Eliot to be completely unconscious. It wasn’t uncommon for omegas to fall into a sort of coma-like rest between bouts of their cycle, but he wasn’t taking anything for granted when no one would consider the three-hour marathon normal.

Still, this would be a lot less worrisome if they could talk with Eliot and let him know what happened without risk of him waking up to his own conclusions with the nurse and orderlies present. Nate threw his legs over the side of the bed and waited for the blood to flow through his veins. When the bottom of his feet stopped tingling, he stood and stretched.

“I hope this doesn’t hurt for days.” He glanced over at Hardison who held a very limp Eliot in his arms.

“What do you want to do with our boy?” Hardison asked. It was utterly sexy the way his hacker held his hitter. Those strong arms were wrapped far more protectively around Eliot than even his hacker was aware.

Hide him away from the world. Make sure he was okay with everything that happened. Claim him.

The list wasn’t long, but none of it fixed their current reality.

“The nurse insisted,” Sophie barely had a chance to slide into the room.

The nurse that had been handling them, stepped into the room, sniffed the air and raised an eyebrow. The musky scent of alpha semen practically ebbed in their atmosphere. The two orderlies also assigned to them, stepped in behind the nurse and did the exact same thing. They were the largest men in the facility and of course, Eliot would be assigned these men, since he fights.

“Alpha sex, though tolerated, is usually discouraged in the facility.” The nurse sat his tray of items on the table and started to pull on his latex gloves.

It took Nate a second to realize that they couldn’t smell Eliot because whatever had happened last night hadn’t triggered a heat scent. He caught Sophie’s stare and then Hardison, who still held a very naked and vulnerable Eliot. Both of them wanted his attention. 

“We took turns knotting our omega.” Nate said, motioning Hardison to put Eliot back on the bed. The second he did, Nate dropped the extra towel over their hitter’s hips. 

The nurse looked pensive. “I’ll just take a look here.”

The nurse came over, bent down and lifted the towel. Nate situated his body so he could keep an eye on the room. He didn’t like the intrusion, especially while his alpha brain tried so hard to sort out the situation. A very large part of him was angry he didn’t mate his hitter. Eliot was still in charge of his own fate.

“It looks like the knotting was successful.” The nurse spread Eliot’s cheeks. Fresh semen dribbled out, white and gloppy. 

Nate found himself trying not to breathe. He couldn’t stand a stranger touching what was his. Eliot remained blissfully unaware. Somehow, that almost made all this worse.

The nurse stepped back, pulling off his gloves. “Is there a reason you chose not to take this time to properly claim your omega?”

“Personal reasons,” Nate said. He couldn’t lie and say Eliot fought them, when they were all barely dressed and not covered in defense wounds. 

The nurse nodded, but the sour face went nowhere. “I’ll leave a note for the doctor.” 

“What do you think that means?” Hardison asked, the second the door shut behind their intruders. His voice was huskier than usual. 

“We’ll find out, eventually,” Nate answered.

Parker held up three needles. “Got our sample.”

“Parker, darling, we only needed one,” Sophie sighed.

 

oOo

 

Parker’s inquisitive voice was the first to pierce the fog in his head. “Yeah, but I don’t want to leave. What if you go see Doctor Trent as a group? Won’t he wonder where I’m at?” 

“She’s got a point, Nate. We need to find a safer route. I’m more afraid of Eliot than I am of those orderlies com’in in smell’in all up in our business like they going to take our omega,” Hardison said.

Hardison said _their omega_. He sure-as-hell hoped that was a fluke. 

“Not anyone’s omega, Hardison,” Eliot growled. His throat ached with dryness. It hurt to swallow.

The room grew quiet as he pulled himself into a sitting position. First thing he noticed was the throbbing muscles in his low spine and down his inner thighs. The second ache came in the way of his anus and the warm liquid that slid down his inner thighs from the movement. The third thing he noticed was his nudity and that he smelled like his team and it wasn’t the damn bed.

He pulled the pillow over his lap as he threw his legs over the side of the bed. No one moved to help him even when he tried to stand and ended up falling back onto the bed. He swallowed again and closed his eyes.

When he opened them, he looked straight at Nate and forced his inner will to lockdown that gaze. Everything inside him was hot with embarrassment and he wanted to look away. “Did you—”

He couldn’t finish that question.

Nate’s pupils were blown. All of their pupils were and when Nate breathed, he took a very deep breath like he was personally stealing Eliot’s smell. “No. You’re not knotted, and you’re not claimed.” 

It was a testament to their self-control. He worked with alphas his whole life and instincts were stronger than logic.

Eliot nodded, finally looking down at his bare body. When he tried to move again, he felt the stiffness align with his gut. “I’m really sore.”

Not that he was calling Nate a liar. His omega brain would know if he was claimed…. Right? RIGHT? 

Damnit! He didn’t know. He didn’t know anything, and it made his pulse race and his stomach churn. 

“We had to trick your body into thinking it was being claimed. We used a knotted dildo, but the sperm is real,” Nate said. 

_Ours,_ was what Eliot heard. 

“Did I—”

_Beg? Cry? Demand? For an alpha knot—_

The silence neither proved or disproved his fear. At their silence, he forced himself upright and with the pillow at his hips, started towards the bathroom.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” Nate asked.

“Food. Lots of it. I’m starving.” Eliot didn’t wait for a reply. He shut the door behind him, then opened it a notch to throw the pillow out into the room. He didn’t need a reminder.

He purposely ignored glancing into the mirror as he turned the water on and waited for it to heat up. In that couple of seconds, curiosity got the better of him and he glanced up. He didn’t like what his reflection showed; dark circles under his eyes, hair stringy with sweat and semen, bruised wrists, shoulders and hips where the team had probably kept him submissive. 

He didn’t like that his pupils were still blown, eclipsing his irises or that his usually tan skin was unusually pale. He didn’t like how exhausted his body appeared, the way his shoulders sunk forward from fatigue and how he had to lean to keep the growing tension off his sore hips. 

Fuck. His. Life.

He got into the shower and scrubbed twice. He was in the middle of scrubbing a third time when he realized how neurotic he was behaving. The soap’s superficial scent couldn’t guard him from the real fear that plagued his thoughts. 

He was so afraid now that he didn’t wholly find the idea of these alphas being _his_ alphas off-putting. 

God. He really, really loathed that primal mindset. He was a Ranger. He worked with several secret services and later went solo. He was a damn good retrieval expert. He was anything he wanted to be…

And an omega didn’t sound so bad. 

He blanched when he caught himself sniffing at his wrists with the whispered hope that maybe he’d smell his team. “Not happening! Not today. Not tomorrow. Not next week. So, you can saddle that bitch pass now.” 

He was no one’s bitch. Last night was a strange fluke caused by the shots and whatever else still floated in his system. 

A onetime deal.

It wouldn’t happen again.

So why was his inner voice so damn displeased with that notion?

“Get a hobby, son.” He growled at nothing as he shut the water off. The moist air didn’t offer the slightest comfort as he toweled off and cracked the door wide enough to demand clean clothes. Parker instantly shoved a baby yellow jumper through the opening.  
He fought the desire to shove it back at her and demand a pair of jeans. He shut the door, toweled his hair off again, then slid into the jumper. It’d been one from home and smelled more like Nate’s residence than expected. 

He sniffed at the fabric and inwardly sighed. Yes. He could do this. He was the apex alpha of this group, even if his body didn’t agree. 

It felt good being fully dressed.

Hospital food waited on the small table in plastic bowls and dishes. He could already tell by visual, that it wouldn’t compare to what he could do. “I really miss my kitchen.”

“I miss your cooking too,” Parker said. She didn’t bother glancing at him as she bounced a small ball on the wall and caught it. 

He moved to the table and took a seat, too hungry to care that no one else ate. He immediately shoveled the food down, grateful no one tried to hold a conversation. It could wait. He needed to fill his bottomless stomach. 

But the tension was hard to ignore. He glanced up at his crew of wayward alphas. “What?”

“We’re quarantined until they can confirm you’re not in heat,” Nate answered. His dark, scruffy hair softened his features, but his pent-up energy made his shoulders tight. The man was amazingly sexy.

Eliot shoved an entire biscuit into his mouth, barely tasting the jam as he adverted his attention to his plate. He was sure it was the hormones. “I’m not in heat. So why are you worried?”

“This is getting a little more complicated. We might be over our heads.” Nate’s voice tightened.

“There isn’t exactly a lot of people we could call to get us out,” Hardison said. His fingers never stopped typing on the keypad. It was the only comfortable consistency in the room.

Eliot shrugged. It felt like he was the center of attention, but every time he looked up, the group was busy looking at something else; Hardison with his computer, Sophie with her mobile and Parker with her stupid ball. Only Nate openly studied him and if he stared too long in return, he noticed things about his lead that made him nervous; like his masculine jawline and how his dark, curly hair brought out the blue in his eyes.

“There’s a, uh,” Eliot pointed to his neck. “There’s a chip in my neck from back in my service days. It hasn’t been activated for a while but it’s military grade, so it probably still works.”

“A chip? Like what we do to our pets?” Hardison immediately coughed when he realized what he said. “I didn’t mean you were a pet or anything—”

“Chill, alright. I know what you meant. Like most things the government deems as property, they have ways of making sure they get it back.” Plus, with what he knew, it was cheaper keeping him alive than to retrain a younger recruit. 

“How do I find this GPS locator in the net?” Hardison asked. 

Eliot indicated that he should hand over his computer. He typed in the government link. He’d seen it only once, but his memory was good. It had to be. He was trained to be the best at what he did.

“Do what you’re good at. Break into the system,” Eliot said, shoving another biscuit into his mouth.

 

oOo

 

Carbs were good. 

Nate had never sat around mentally taking note on how much his hitter ate. That hadn’t been the relationship he had with the man he saw as a partner and equal. That’s until Eliot walked into the conference room with his duffle bag full of suppressants. Something snapped in his conscious.

Not the, _I’m alpha, hear me roar,_ but more along the lines of, _Shit. Eliot has a personality disorder and I didn’t recognize the signs._

This ordeal with Eliot made the primitive alpha part of him take ownership. Logically, who wouldn’t want Eliot? The kid was intriguing and mysterious, strong-willed and educated, self-reliant and a strategist. There was clearly a roughness around the edges if someone were to solely judge him on his omega persona. 

“Wow, the government never lets me down. All this coding his beautiful.” Hardison was gone, lost in the one thing he loved above all else. His eyes widened, and his breathing slowed. Like a zombie, he was enthralled.

“All those numbers don’t mean anything to me,” Sophie said, standing over his shoulder. Parker saddled up next to her, also searching for what had Hardison captivated. 

“I can mirror their technology to make a private GPS system.” The quiet was broken by Hardison typing. He glanced up, catching Eliot’s eyes for a second and getting his answer. 

“Is my chip still active?” All the food he stuffed down his throat left a weight in his stomach. He suddenly felt sick. Nerves.

“Nah, man. Don’t worry about it. I’ll keep you off their grid. I can remove your chip number from their system and delete your file. It’ll make it hard for them to put anything out on you if they don’t have information. Like you was never born.” Hardison stared at him from over the top of the laptop screen. His dark brown eyes were nothing short of sympathetic, even though he didn’t know an ounce of that history. 

Eliot nodded, then leaned into his skillet. He hated to say it, but a large weight had been lifted off his shoulder. It wasn’t like he didn’t serve his time. He gave the service everything, including his freewill and his utter obedience. He needed the rest of his life to make-up for so many things. He needed this peace of mind. “Thanks, Hardison.”

“I got’chu, man.” Hardison answered. There was no spite in the comment. It was a safety net.

A safety net he was pretty damn sure he didn’t want but maybe, if he was honest, kind of needed. 

 

oOo

 

Nate finally gave in and took a plate. His action was the catalyst for the rest of the team to get their food. He was barely a second into his eggs when someone knocked once on their closed door. Hardison closed the computer and threw his shirt over it, before taking Parker’s plate right out of her hand and setting it on top. 

Yeah. Nothing looked suspicious here.

Their orderly pushed the door open but didn’t enter the room. The hallways was quiet, given that everyone was probably in a class. “The doctor has signed your release papers.”

“What?” Eliot and Nate said at the same time.

Eliot realized what he did and sat down, but it was too late. He gained the orderly’s attention and it wasn’t something that settled well with Nate. 

“We haven’t completed the program.” Nate handed his plate to Parker and crossed the small space. The man’s neutral scent drove him slightly madder than if his scent filled their atmosphere. No scent meant he couldn’t prepare for trouble.

“Your omega has had a successful mating. That’s all the program was designed to do,” the man answered. “Please gather your things and I’ll be back to escort you out.”

The orderly left before Nate could protest. He stood there with the papers, knowing this was a blessing. They were way over their heads, but at least in this facility in this small room, he had control over Eliot. Once they were out of here, he couldn’t demand Eliot stay at his home. That would be pressing the boundaries he made as the leader of this group.

“Thank God. I thought we were going to have to sneak Eliot through the vents or something,” Hardison said.

Parker huffed, dropping Nate’s plate on the table and taking her plate back from Hardison. “Yeah right. He can’t fit through there. It’s too narrow.”

Nate caught Eliot’s wrist when he tried to walk past him and his hitter immediately flexed, a small but dangerous reminder that Eliot threw punches. “What are you up to, kid?”

Eliot’s eyes narrowed. “I’m going to make sure Doctor Jamie Trent stops ignoring us.”

“No, you aren’t,” Nate answered. When Eliot didn’t stop, he was forced to use his denser muscle to thrust his hitter onto the bed. It was dumb luck he caught the kid completely off-guard. That wasn’t at all usual for Eliot. 

“Nate.” Eliot growled from his position on the bed, hands on either side of him like he was going to stand at any minute.

But he didn’t stand.

He didn’t move.

“You want through that door? Fight me for that right.” It was an extremely bold move, a suicidal proposition he’d never give his hitter on any other day.

His omega brain kept him tied to the bed, pupils blown and breathing a little shallow. Of course, force would be his hitter’s sexual trigger. Eliot was an aggressive omega who no doubt needed an aggressive, masculine alpha. 

Nate clamped down on that thought, because his cock twitched and the knot at the base of his shaft started to fill with blood. He took a breath, and then another. That surprised look in Eliot’s blue eyes killed him. This ex-soldier was such a gorgeous creature. 

He made it clear that he didn’t need anyone, yet, Nate knew in the depths of his heart, that his hitter needed him. Maybe even wanted him with the same desire Nate felt for his hitter.

But Eliot wasn’t the type to come out and say what he wanted or needed. They had to work this out. 

“So that’s it? We’re throwing in the towel? I went off my medication for this dead end?” Eliot looked visibly disturbed and ready to fly off the handle.

Nate turned his back on him. He would need more space than this if his boner had any chance of going down. “We’re going to continue this research at home. We’ve been looking at the wrong person for a lead.” 

“Like Trent has a business partner or something?” Hardison asked, getting up from his chair.

Sophie and Parker were already in the middle of changing. After last night, boundaries were going to be a little odd. Not that they had a lot of boundaries before, considering they treated Eliot like the alpha he was extremely good at mimicking. 

“I’m thinking more along the lines of henchmen.” It was a possessive alpha hunch, something he saw flint across the orderly’s face when he looked at Eliot.

They were given approximately two hours to change, all of them except Eliot who wore the little jumper Sophie had picked out. It looked good on him, showing off his defined shoulders and arms. His broad chest and narrow waist drew attention to round, muscular ass.

Eliot huffed on the bed, arms crossed. The jumper’s thin material made it clear that Eliot was hard again. Nate immediately realized his mistake on remember said, small cock and balls, the warmth and sponginess of them as he gently stroked his hitter into completion. 

The memory made him hard. Thank God his jeans were thicker and his lose shirt covered his clear interest. Eliot dragged his feet leaving the room, not the first time since they got there that he showed signs of embarrassment. His hitter gritted his teeth and kept his eyes straight, though a blush peeked across his cheeks. 

“Is there going to be a follow-up? Are there any instruction manuals to follow while we’re at home?” Nate asked when they got in the elevator.

The no-name orderly shrugged. “Sorry Mister Ford, the best manuals are going to be the ones on training. This facility is only for omegas with clear attachment disorders.”

Eliot huffed. The orderly didn’t acknowledge him. 

Nate did catch Sophie’s raised eyebrows. She stood to the other side of Eliot and Hardison kicked back against the wall watching the entire small space. The ride upstairs was short. Eliot caught Nate by the loop in his jeans and yanked him back a step before he could exit the elevator.

“Let me have your coat,” he whispered.

Nate looked over his omega and then back at the orderly patiently waiting. That predator glare was nothing short of trouble. He dropped his tone, though any alpha within their proximity would have heard, anyways. “You’re okay, Eliot.”

Eliot leaned in and lowered his voice. He looked flushed again, pupils dilated, and little omega cock strained against the fabric. “No. I’m not leaving here dressed like this.”

Nate caught him under the jaw and forced him to meet his eyes. “You will, Eliot. I’m right here. You’re going to be fine.”

“I don’t feel fine.” His tone wasn’t so low anymore. He jerked out of Nate’s hold. 

“Nate?” Hardison came back onto the elevator.

“He’s having a panic attack,” Nate said. Before he could think better of it, he caught Eliot by the back of the head and drew his face into the curve of his neck. Eliot put his hands up on Nate’s chest to try and push him back, but Nate wasn’t having it. “Work with me, kid. It’s hardly a walk. I’ll carry you.”

Eliot grumbled and this time when he pushed, Nate willingly stepped back. Eliot remained flushed and looking a little high from scenting. Nate slid a hand around his waist, expecting a protest, but his hitter didn’t even grumble. They walked straight out of the building and to their car.

“God, never thought I would miss the sun so much,” Sophie said, making it to the car first. “Do you need me to drive?” 

Nate threw her the keys and she got in the front driver’s side. Parker and Eliot got squared into the back seats, and Nate caught Hardison’s arm before his hacker could get into the front passage side. “I want Eliot’s chip activated as soon as possible.” 

“You’re expecting trouble?” It wasn’t a question. Hardison’s attention darted behind him, at the building before turning to him.

“I always follow a hunch.” The real question was, how did he make this work for the mission without getting Eliot claimed; by him or any other alpha. If last night was anything to go off, Eliot was the perfect candidate for a very large nest. 

Eliot had fallen asleep, head back against the seat, his long throat exposed to the alphas around him. Their hitter rarely ever fell asleep in the car, especially when they were on a mission, but it bespoke both his exhaustion and his level of trust for the alphas in the car. 

“He’s really out of it, Nate. He’s going to need us even more now.” Sophie’s comment was soft as to not wake Eliot. Their hitter didn’t even stir. His breathing was even. 

Nate swallowed hard, fiddling with the idea of rolling down the window so every breathe he took wasn’t full of Eliot. He wanted to lick along his throat and follow the muscle straight to the part of him that was meant to be bit. “Yeah. I know. We need to deal with a couple issues right now.”

Like who did Jamie Trent have doing the dirty work? Most of the omegas that were taken, hadn’t disappeared at the clinic. The only constant was that each missing omega went into a very hard heat, then disappeared; outside their home, while grocery shopping, dropping pups off at school. They were living their normal lives and poof, they were gone.

Sophie parked their vehicle at the back of the bar and Nate gently nudged Eliot awake. The kid startled, hands going out to grasp both Parker and Nate, but the tension faded fast. His pupils were still blown and when he took a deep breath, it looked trashed, barely able to keep his head up.

“Nate, is he—” Sophie started.

“No. I don’t think so. He’s okay.” Nate promised, even though he had to help Eliot scoot out of the car. His first step was uneven and when it became clear that he wasn’t going to be able to walk by himself, Nate lifted his hitter like a bride.

If Eliot had been feeling better, he was sure the kid would complain. As it were, he was grateful to have a chance to hold him so soon after leaving the hospital.


	8. Chapter 8

“I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but we were followed. Must not have trusted the address you stuck on our registration papers, Nate.” Hardison lingered at the doorway a second longer before closing it behind him. 

“We expected trouble when we started this venture,” Nate said, carrying his bundle up the back staircase to his apartment above. It was good being home, surrounded by the familiar scents of his property and pack. Down below, the soft sounds of cheering from the bar floated through the floorboards. 

He paused in the foyer, unsure if he should take Eliot to the hitter’s bedroom or his. He understood possessiveness. Understood it, because he’d gone through it with every omega he’d dated. Media said this was natural. What they never talked about was how to deal with an omega who had an alpha complex.

“What are you doing?” Sophie asked, squeezing past him when he stopped in the foyer. 

Hardison dropped their luggage along the wall and Parker stood outside the doorway, watching the staircase like a guard dog. Lord help anyone that made Parker’s hackles raise. She acted on pure instincts, but her physique would hinder a real fight.

“I’m trying to decide on the right thing to do,” Nate answered. Sophie gave a soft, knowing hum, even as Nate started towards Eliot’s bedroom. Sophie followed, catching the door for him. 

Eliot’s room hadn’t been aired out and still held the faint traces of his sickness. Luckily for him, Sophie was already in the middle of propping the window open and staring out. He got his hitter on the bed and Eliot’s hand shot out, grabbing his wrist when he tried to step back.

“Nate, uh—”

Nate patted his hand and sat on the edge of the bed, knowing full well that perhaps Eliot didn’t want to be alone. Faux heat or not, omegas were social creatures when they were at their most vulnerable. It was a psychology course every fifth grader learned at the start of sexual gender education.

He pulled out his mobile phone and started flipping through the security cameras while he listened to the team unpack and unwind. Hardison laughed and the deep rumble eased Nate like heat seeping into his tired muscles.

“I can feel it. I think It’s going to happen again. I don’t like losing time, Nate.” Eliot turned to his side and balled into a fetal position.

Nate got up and went into Eliot’s bathroom, glad that the housekeeper had come by while they were gone. He got a clean rag from the cabinet and held it under the facet. Wringing it out, he returned to Eliot’s bed and drew the wet rag over his forehead first, then lifted his hair off his neck and used it to cool his skin. Eliot didn’t complain.

“If it happens, I’m here for you. It’s going to be okay. I’m not going to leave you to figure this out alone,” Nate promised. At the insistent, but soft pull of Eliot’s hand on his wrist, he laid down in the bed and helped Eliot situate himself, so his nose was against his neck. Logic should prevail, but logic never dealt with raging hormones that demanded he knot and claim.

“Can you stop being a leader for one damn minute?” Eliot growled against his skin. His hair fell over his face, hiding his features. 

“What do you want from me?” Nate said, drawing his hand down Eliot’s spine. His hitter’s body heat was warm against his palm, but not hot like it should be for an omega. It was another hard reminder on how far Eliot would go to not be an omega.

“I want your knot.” Eliot’s words were crystal clear, but still, Nate wasn’t sure he fully comprehended, because there was no way his hitter would submit.

“You’re not feeling well and after the week we had, you might be a little—”

Eliot moved like molasses, pulling up on his elbow to look at him. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes. Completely, but Eliot, you’ve never had a knot before. If you take it dry, it’s going to hurt. It could even tare your muscle.” He was a little bigger than average for an alpha knot, which meant he had to work his omega partners muscles before taking it.

“My thoughts are a lot clearer than they were back at the clinic.” Eliot’s pupils were wide, but not blown. His words were surprisingly clear for his state of being. “But I would feel better if you were tied to the bedpost.”

Nate’s heart pattered hard in his chest. He licked his lips and nodded, sitting up slowly and removing himself from the bed. “Okay. That’s fine. Give me a second, okay. I need to grab a few things.”

He left his hitter’s bedroom and entered the empty hallway towards the door where Hardison had left their bags. He dug through his things until he found the mouthguard. His heart couldn’t beat any harder in his chest. Any minute now, he was sure it would burst. The mouthguard felt heavy in his hand.

Sophie blocked the hallway when he stood and turned. “What’s going on, Nate?”

There was no reason to feel so much guilt about this. Eliot asked to be knotted. But the guilt lingered in his gut. “I’m fulfilling a request.”

“What kind of request?” Parker asked, a little more innocently as she came up behind Sophie. Her large eyes blinked at him, waiting for an explanation. Before he could answer, her eyes darted to the mouthguard. She tilted her head. “Is Eliot in heat again?”

“No. He’s got his wits about him, right now.” Nate said, walking past them. 

“Nate, I know Eliot is pretty capable of making his own decisions, but I don’t want you deciding something I know you’ll regret,” Sophie said.

Hardison poked his head out of the spare room. “I got the tracker turned on…. What did I just walk into?”

“Nate’s got his mouthguard,” Parker said.

Hardison raised an eyebrow. “Is Eliot in heat again?”

“No. I’m—” he sighed. “No. He’s not. He made a request and I’m going to do it.”

Parker perked up. “He wants us to do what we did back at the hospital?”

“Only me, Parker. He still has a few things he needs to work out,” he commented, walking past them to the kitchen. He pulled out a couple bottles of water and granola bars. When he turned around, his teammates were standing there like lost puppies. “If I’m not out here for dinner, then check in on us. I’m not locking the door, but—”

Heat rushed over his cheeks. If he went into rut, he wouldn’t be in the right mind frame to know if Eliot was hurt from his knot. 

“You’re going to have to check in on us. I can’t get you if he does go into heat. I can’t risk him impaling himself,” Nate said.

“Why would _he_ have a chance to impale himself?” Sophie asked, dark eyes all too knowing as she studied him, then frowned.

“I gave him permission to restrain me.” At the roughness of their expressions, he felt compelled to explain, something an apex alpha shouldn’t need to do, but they trusted him as their leader for many reasons, one, because he treated them like equals. “It makes him feel safer to do this.”

Parker snorted and shook her head. “But no matter what, you’d still be dangerous. Even tied down, you’d probably break your wrists to get to him.”

Ruts had left him blind in the past. He wondered if what she said would still be true for him.

“Oh Nate. Did you at least warn him about the size of your…. Knot?” She whispered low, though most of the team was standing right there present.

“I warned him. We’ll have to take it slow.” It’s not like he hadn’t showered in front of the alphas present before. They’d even seen him both drunk and in a rut. It couldn’t get more telling than that. 

“Okay, we’ll check in on you once things get quiet. If he’s okay, we’ll leave it be.” Hardison said. 

He appreciated that. 

As the leader and an alpha, he was more than ready to fuck Eliot straight into the mattress, but he had to keep reminding himself that Eliot was a virgin. It was strange for an omega to request an alpha to be the one tied down, but again, this was Eliot. The kid would protect his best interest and being knotted wouldn’t make him feel so safe. 

Which was a pity, because he couldn’t be any safer than he would be with Nate. 

Eliot sat on the edge of the bed, still fully dressed and now with strips of cloth in his hand that he tested for durability. Those beautiful blue eyes looked up at him, mere slivers around the dark of his widened pupils. Eliot subconsciously licked at his lips.

“Got what you need?” Nate kicked off his shoes and socks before pulling his shirt over his head. His cock pulsed with the knowledge that Eliot watched every movement he made. 

“I’d like something stronger than cloth to keep you down.” Eliot spoke his truth.

Nate unclasped his belt and zipped his pants. Eliot’s cheeks went pink and he turned his attention towards the open window. Nate took that moment to stroke himself through his boxer briefs. His cock was so hard that a good portion of the mushroom tip already poked out at the top of his band. He adjusted himself, so he could feel the weight of his shaft still restrained. It was a teasing gesture, even if it only teased him. 

“I need to prepare you for my knot.” Nate didn’t move any closer to the bed. 

Eliot’s attention jerked back over to him, but only for a second as his attention drifted down Nate’s torso to his shaft. He turned his attention back to the window, then the bed and finally the fabric in his hands. “I still feel stretched from the plug they made we wear at the clinic.”

Nate shook his head as he approached the bed slowly. “Sorry kid, but I don’t trust you’re a very good judge on what you’re going through right now.”

“What do you want from me? I’m not bending over.” The statement couldn’t have been more of a warning if it was peppered with bullets. 

Eliot stood when he approached. When the younger man didn’t discourage him, he reached up and unlatched the button holding the right strap on the jumper. Eliot’s hand immediately jerked up, catching the strap before it slid off his shoulder.

“I’m still an adult, Nate. I can undress myself.” The venom was gone. He bit his bottom lip as his attention drifted to the side, then he mumbled something on the lines of needing to be excused, then walked around Nate to the bathroom. 

Nate stood there waiting as his hitter undressed with a door between them, as if in the next couple of minutes, he wouldn’t be shoving his knot in his hitter’s ring of tight muscle. His hand drifted back down his flat stomach to the heat of his cock and then a little lower to stroke the bulbous knot that was already semi-erect. His balls were so heavy as if he hadn’t milked every last bit of sperm from them for the knotted toy they used to get Eliot through the faux heat. 

God. What did Eliot’s heat scent smell like? It was sinful even trying to imagine it. His thoughts kept circulating around that thought. 

Eliot stepped out of the bathroom with a towel tucked up under his armpits. It came down over his torso and the curve of his rump and crotch. Virgins were shy. They needed coaxing.

“When you’re ready.” Nate took a seat on the bed and waited as patiently as his mind would allow. Unfortunately, patience was not an alpha’s strong point when sex was on the table. 

It took a hot second, but Eliot came over to the bed and stood out of comfortable reach as if he still didn’t trust the situation. “Do we need music or something?”

“Would it make you feel better?” Nate asked, staring up at his hitter. He wasn’t used to being in the more vulnerable position. Sitting didn’t give him any leverage to maneuver Eliot if the young omega became disobedient, but that was the point… To let Eliot feel like he _had_ control.

Eliot frowned and looked a little lost as his attention drifted over his room. “No.”

“We can do this slowly. I could hold you until you’re ready.” Nate found genuine concern in how quickly they were moving. The clinic had clearly stirred Eliot’s Post-Traumatic Stress disorder. He wasn’t an expert on mania, but he could recognize signs, and an omega asking to be knotted after decades of abstinence was concerning.

Eliot took a step forward. “I want this Nate. I trust you.”

Nate cautiously tested the waters by reaching around Eliot and drawing his fingertips up the back of Eliot’s legs. The omega’s breathing changed. He slid his fingers over his hitter’s strong gluts until he rested one of large hands on Eliot’s lower back. His other hand looped around Eliot’s leg, keeping him steady.

“I’m not under the influence of a heat-fog.” Eliot tried for reassuring. His pupils were wide, but not blown. He wasn’t dealing with an omega fever. Still, it was hard to trust Eliot was in the right frame of mind to make any of these decisions.

“I need to work you open.” Nate returned the smile.

He drew his fingers down the crevice of Eliot’s tight muscles, already aware that the fit would be constricting on his end too. The one virgin he’d managed to have sex with back in high school, hadn’t had years of field training and hadn’t spent hours at the gym every day. 

“I’m still sore from the knotted dildo,” Eliot said. The muscle in his thighs remained tight, his butt clenched, unwilling to let Nate breech his entrance.

“My knot is pretty thick, kid, much thicker in diameter than the starter knot they gave you at the clinic.” It felt like an asshole move bringing up the clinic, but Eliot wasn’t the type of guy that liked things sugar coated. 

“It didn’t feel like a starter knot,” Eliot grumbled, then relented with a sigh. “How big are we talking?”

Nate stifled a surprised laugh. Eliot seemed so innocent and genuinely nervous. He stood with his hand on the hitter’s hips to keep him from backing up, then took the younger man’s hand and pressed it at the base of his shaft. 

Eliot’s eyes fluttered shut for a second and he swallowed hard. “That’s uh… That’s already bigger.”

“We will go slow. You’ll be ready for my knot before I even slide into you.” It was a promise Nate knew he could keep. He was an experienced alpha. He’d driven many omegas into a frenzy, something he was extremely proud of. 

Eliot would be no exception.

“What is the best way to do this?” At least the ex-ops agent left the dialogue open. His attention briefly darted to the strips of cloth he left on the edge of the bed. 

“My personal opinion? Omegas in your situation find getting rimmed, relaxing.” Virgins and experienced omegas both liked it, but anxious omegas would appreciate the technique a little more.

Eliot pushed his hair behind his ear, mulling it over. His eyes twinkled with humor as he shook his head. “Nah, man. It sounds a lot weirder having that statement directed at me for once.”

Nate took a seat on the edge of the bed. With his hand on Eliot’s hips, he drew his hitter closer towards him. “Let’s start at ground level, then.”

He tapped Eliot’s thigh to indicate he lift his foot onto the edge of the bed. Eliot slowly followed through with the unspoken order. He placed his hand on Nate’s shoulder. The lack of pressure gave him the distinct impression that it was caution on his hitter’s behalf, a sort of failproof to push him away if it got too emotionally intense for him.

Nate nuzzled that hand for a second, closely watching Eliot for any sign of fear. Of course, he didn’t actually expect to see it. Eliot’s signs of fear usually lead to unwarranted aggression. The younger man currently remained calm.

At this angle, the towel lifted enough for him to see the small omega cock nestled within his dark, trimmed pubic curls. He still lacked the heat pheromones, which Nate remained grateful for. He was good at controlling that voice that shucked logic for instincts.

That same voice often led alphas into aggressive transactions. He was not exempt, and he had a feeling Eliot’s scent would be a trigger that would flip his switch before even he knew what he was doing. 

He swallowed back the self-discovery as he gently massaged Eliot’s solid muscles. He always knew the younger man had an extremely disciplined schedule for training, but he fully appreciated it now. Despite Eliot’s love for cooking, his body mass had very little fat.

He leaned in, kissing along Eliot’s inner thigh, tasting his skin through tiny licks before returning with the kisses. Eliot’s fingers tightened in his shoulders, with clear approval. 

Nate worked his way up to Eliot’s cock. It lengthened with his interest, but it wasn’t hard. He nuzzled it, rubbing his cheek against the soft curls that made up Eliot’s pubic region, trimmed and maintained like the rest of the man. He cupped Eliot’s balls and the omega opened his legs a little farther, giving him the room to gently roll his sac as he engulfed the head of the omega’s cock.

Eliot threw his head back with a long drawn out sigh. “I’ve never trusted an alpha down here. It actually feels nicer than I thought it would.”

Nate smirked, letting Eliot slowly pop out of his mouth before drawing him all the way back in. The tiny traces of precome that leaked from Eliot’s tip was salty and masculine; and he was completely hungry for it. 

When Eliot started moving his hips to meet the rhythm Nate set, Nate pushed his fingers between his hitter’s cheeks. Eliot paused his movement and Nate looked up at him. His eyes were closed and shoulders finally relaxed. The kid’s posture was very near that of an alpha. He’d mimicked it so much, that it became natural.

“Just so we’re on the same page, I need you to give me a verbal affirmation that you’re not influenced right now through your hormones.”

Eliot chuckled. “Yeah. There’s nothing my body can make me do if my mind doesn’t want. Right now, I want you to make my body quiet.” 

“I can do that for you, Eliot, but part of your peace will come if you allow me to be fully in control,” Nate said, hoping to change his hitter mind about using the torn fabric as ties. He continued to kiss Eliot’s small, mushroom tip.

“I don’t…. I can’t….”

Nate sucked him back in and watched as Eliot’s head fell back again, his long hair falling over his shoulders as he tried to catch his breath.

“Yes. Okay. I won’t tie you down, but Nate, I seriously don’t know how to be what you expect from someone in my position,” Eliot said.

“It’s okay, kid. You can be the tough guy and the omega. I’ll allow it as long as you hand over those reins in the bedroom.” God, he really needed Eliot to come so he could bask in his taste. 

Eliot nodded. 

Nate went back to working on his hitter’s cock. He didn’t allow himself an inch of space to think on all the ways this was wrong. Hell, the kid was used to topping. Maybe the kid would surprise him and try to take over the encounter, but for now, he was softly rocking into Nate’s mouth. His smaller length kept his movements short. 

“I’m going to breach your muscle,” Nate warned. Eliot only nodded with his eyes tightly shut. 

He pressed lightly on the tight ring of muscle, feeling absolutely no give. The tiny amount of warm slick that coated the inside of his cervices, finally allowed him to push in with the tip of his finger and then a couple seconds later, a knuckle. He didn’t give up the slow process until his finger was buried. 

Eliot stopped breathing. He went still.

“Does it hurt?” It shouldn’t. The knotted dildo was bigger than the finger currently inside him.

Eliot shook his head. “I’m just processing. I’m okay. I’m good. I want this.”

Yeah? So why did the kid keep his eyes so tightly shut like he was trying hard to picture himself anywhere else? “If you want to stop, we can. You’re not in heat. There’s nothing to prove.”

Eliot shook his head. “I’m not trying to prove something. I’m trying to fill the hole that’s suddenly there.”

His hitter’s honesty shocked the hell out of him. He took the kid back into his mouth, continuing to massage and roll his balls with one hand and adding a second finger to Eliot’s hole. He wanted so badly to feel Eliot orgasm in his arms; wanted to taste his spunk when he was spent.

Eliot’s breathing changed. He was close. 

More body-warm slick slid from his tight hole and Nate took advantage of it, sliding another finger into his heated core and working it in and out. He barely gave Eliot a chance to adjust because every muscle in the hitter’s body was starting to tense, ready to orgasm. His balls were drawing up, ready to ejaculate. 

From experience, there was nothing more pleasing than watching Eliot orgasm; to feel the omega completely give himself over to it. 

Nate pushed his third finger inside.

“Nate. God. Nate!” Eliot’s movements grew erratic, dislodging his hold on his small shaft twice.

Nate wrapped an arm around the younger man’s hips, drawing him in close and swallowing him back into his mouth. Eliot’s creamy ejaculation hit the back of his mouth, perfect in every way to his alpha hunger. He took that moment to push a fourth finger inside his friend.

Eliot threw his head back; his cries were music in the quiet as he rode his orgasm out. Nate milked him. Milked every last bit of his seed, the way Eliot’s body would soon be milking him for all his seed. 

He didn’t stop until Eliot went soft in his mouth. 

Nate pulled his wet fingers from Eliot’s tight channel and helped his friend onto the bed, guiding him into a presentation position. When he tensed, Nate rubbed circles along his thighs, admiring the way muscles shaped his back, thighs, and ass. 

“So, your endgame was to make me too exhausted to argue this position?” Humor edged the younger man’s tone, easing the situation despite his body not looking any more relaxed. 

Nate chuckled. “Kid, I like you best when you are hellbent on moving heaven and earth, but your compliance is a key factor in us both reaching our pleasure points.”

Oh yeah, Nate had every intention of enjoying the hell out of knotting his little, aggressive omega.

 

oOo

 

Eliot relaxed into the warmth of the hands on his hips. He expected Nate’s tip. A large part of him understood that their relationship had already shifted when they went into the clinic as a mating couple. He expected it to stay as part of the con, but his feelings were real.

“You’re doing so good Eliot.” Nate’s voice grew husky. His breathing patterns changed. His pupils were wider, clearly high on whatever ego pushed alphas over the edge. 

It made Eliot’s stomach flipflop and he spread his legs more. The alpha’s hands were strong, kneading his hips and thighs before parting his cheeks. The first long drag of the alpha’s warm tongue along his crevice surprised him. The second lick drew a purr straight out of him as he leaned back into the tongue that licked and teased his sensitive nerves. 

“Such a good omega.” Nate’s voice turned thick. It flipped a switch inside him.

Eliot tried to stay focused. He didn’t want to go under the influence, but Nate’s words made his stomach tighten and while Nate licked at his hole, the alpha had a hand between his thighs, stroking him and kneading his balls. Those hands felt so big on him, like everything that made him male fit right in the alpha’s grip. 

He instantly grew hard again. 

“You like that omega? Want my knot? Want me to fuck a baby into you?” Nate asked. His words were warm and smooth like the whisky he drank. All that alpha heat and dirty promises soaked straight through his center. 

The orgasm hit hard, and he bucked back, aware that Nate was aggressively rimming him out, the absolute first time he’d ever allowed anyone to do this. The wet, sloppy sounds filled the quiet of the room. He suddenly wished he had music now, heavy metal so he wouldn’t be utterly turned on by how hot it was giving his full control over to the alpha. 

An alpha he trusted since the first time they met. And he trusted so few people.

“I could live down here,” Nate said, leaving a wet kiss on Eliot’s ass cheek, then following it with a sharp little bite.

Eliot’s heart hammered. His world spiraled. He needed so much more. “Alpha, please. Please knot me.”

Nate’s hands stilled on his hips. “Eliot, sweetheart—”

“Please Nate.” He couldn’t believe he was begging. 

“Eliot, look at me.” The order held no room for argument.

He looked over his shoulder and up at his leader. Nate was impossible to read, but so utterly handsome with the dark feathering of hair across his chest and the dark trail of hair that lead from navel to his extremely dense shaft. Said shaft was purple with thick veins protruding up his rod. 

“Please.” He tried again, surprised by the sound of his voice, how he actually begged. He’d had betas and omegas both begging for him to fuck them, but now he was on the receiving end and was driven by need and desperation.

“How are you feeling, kid? Still capable of making your own decisions?” Nate’s eyes darkened as he watched him closely.

Eliot swallowed hard. “Yeah- uh, yes. Why?”

“You called me alpha.” Play time looked like it might be over. Nate studied him with the calculating gaze of the Insurance Investigator; the white knight. Nate’s eyes narrowed at his silence. 

Eliot licked at his lips, then slowly shook his head. He’d know if he said that, right? That felt more embarrassing than accidently calling one’s teacher, _mom_. “I’m okay, Nate.”

Nate’s fingers were slow to tighten on his hips. “I’m okay with it, if it’s just a kink and I would never turn you down if you wanted me as your alpha, but I want to make sure you’re in the right headspace. I don’t want this messing with you later.”

Eliot dropped his head back into the thick comforter. The only thing really resonated with him was the deeply rooted desire to feel Nate’s knot. If that wasn’t a _huge_ warning sign by itself… “I’m okay, Nate. Please.”

Nate leaned down, kissing along his spine. His lips felt good. That touch drew shivers right under the surface of his skin, so intimately deep within him that he couldn’t possibly reach it on his own. He gritted his teeth to keep from moaning, but it slipped from his lips. 

His friend’s tip felt large as it pushed through his first ring of muscle. Eliot dug his fingers into the sheets trying to bear down on the widening length.

“Breath, kid,” Nate said, stroking along his sides.

And damnit if that didn’t feel really nice too. 

He focused on his breathing. Focused on it way more than he would willingly admit. He couldn’t ignore how thick and heavy Nate felt in his channel. How good it felt to have something so solid and warm stretching the walls of his channel.

 

oOo

 

The first time his knot caught on Eliot’s rim, it was only a fraction in size, still soft and moveable, and easy to slide repeatedly in and out for any other omega, but it caught almost like a full latch due to his hitter’s tightness and it hurt. It hurt like a motherfucker! He stole his breath and he didn’t have a chance to adjust to the pain before Eliot forcefully popped off it with a mewling whine.

“Alpha—”

The begging was muffled this time, but there was no mistaking that word, spoken for the second time that evening. He should be a better person and walk away. There was nothing in his system to blame his bad decision on, no liquor or medications. 

“Eliot?” Nate tried. 

Eliot canted his hips again, impatient.

Great. His hitter had checked out, giving full control to the one part of himself he tried to physically kill with heavy, unregulated narcotics. 

“Alpha, please.” Those words were a sweet promise.

Nate buried his logic. He needed this as much as Eliot. He’d been on edge ever since his hitter got off his crazy assortment of chemicals. He smelled so enticing. His movements were so graceful. His body, alluring. 

He pulled out and pushed back in, not far and not hard. He kept the movement tight and controlled, watching Eliot shiver underneath him.

“Want puppies, omega?” Talking dirty to Eliot should have felt wrong, but he’d done this before with many omegas and when they were in a heat muddled state, their brains were reliably easy to placate with dirty talk.

“Yes.” The word was drawn out and dreamy. There was no way Eliot was in the right frame of mind now. 

He stopped moving and Eliot jerked his hips back, catching him off guard. He caught Eliot for balance and the omega pushed back so hard again that it stole his breath. Warm slick dripped between their bodies. What gathered on his cock now dripped down between his balls. His knot inflated more. 

If he didn’t stop this right now, it would be too late. But a tiny voice in the back of his head said it’d be okay. Eliot did ask for this. And he honestly wanted it too.

He steadied the omega with one hand flat on Eliot’s upper back, gently pushing him back down into the bed. It was time he took control over the situation before his hotheaded hitter did. 

He didn’t have a chance to ask his hitter if he were still okay before Eliot was pushing back against him, leaving wet slick in his pubic hairs.

“Don’t want to do this alone,” Eliot said. It was hard to tell how much clarity the younger man possessed. 

The comment was well-constructed, but the second he felt Nate’s knot, one would think he’d have continued the situation with caution. As badly as it hurt Nate, it had to hurt Eliot more.

He leaned in and kissed along his hitter’s shoulder blades. “I got you omega.” He heavily suspected that Eliot was dealing with another faux heat. 

He tried to keep the rhythm slow and drawn out. He liked the little sounds of approval Eliot made; sounds he’d never heard the hitter make in all the years they practically lived in each other’s bubble through good missions and extremely bad ones. 

He found solace in the way their bodies slapped together and the slick sound of his shaft drawing in and out of Eliot’s sloppy, wet hole. In the privacy of his mind, he called Eliot things like; _his omega, his baby, his love and his obsession._

“Please alpha. You feel so good. So good. Please.” Eliot’s breathing was ragged. His words hardly sounded like that of an educated and extremely dangerous man. 

Nate picked up his pace. His thrusts turned into staccato, quick movements. His knot continued to catch on Eliot’s tight rim muscles every time it grew a centimeter larger; kept stealing his breath and making him see stars unable pleasure overtook the pain.

He pushed in harder. Deeper. 

God. Eliot’s tightness defied omega logic.

“Claim me.” Eliot moaned. In this state, he meant what he begged for. 

Thank God, Nate wasn’t out of it. “Want to be my bitch, omega? Want me to fuck you into the bed? Cum for me, kid. Make the bed wet with your semen.”

Eliot’s sounds were pure gold. Nate sunk down to the root inside Eliot’s hot, tight channel. His knot inflated enough that he couldn’t pull out despite not being fully inflated. He could feel the blood pooling at his base. Could feel the stretch of his knot growing, giving him very little room to maneuver. At first, he thought this would make climaxing on Eliot’s end more difficult, but he was wrong.

Eliot’s omega channel pulled and throbbed around his shaft and knot. It sucked at his core until his balls drew upward and he gave in. The orgasm ripped through his pelvis, pouring serotonin through every nook and cranny of his being. He slammed into the omega underneath him with one understand.

Mate. Claim. Mine.

He gritted his teeth until his jaw ached. A semblance of self-preservation reminded him that he forgot the mouthguard. He couldn’t claim what wasn’t his to take. 

_Eliot is yours though,_ something animalistic whispered in the back of his head.

And he knew it as the truth. Because Eliot had shown so many clear signs that he wanted Nate to be his alpha, but he wanted the kid to ask for it. Needed the kid to have that same realization or it would be a continuous battle of wits. 

Eliot had to submit fully by admitting to himself and the room that he was an omega. Only then, would Nate feel it was okay to claim him. 

Eliot’s muscles were almost too tight around his knot. They’d be locked longer than normal. A looser omega channel would let him pop out at semi-deflated. 

It was something he only pondered for a second though, because that tight channel was milking him, giving him orgasm after endless orgasm and every time more semen was pulled from his core, Eliot also orgasmed. 

It was worth the pain to see Eliot so relaxed and fulfilled.


	9. Chapter 9

Eliot never fell asleep. He laid still though, extremely aware that the man behind him never fell asleep either. Nate gently stroked along his side, lost in quiet thought. 

He was also aware that every time Nate had a small spasm, it triggered an orgasm with him. He couldn’t tell what was going on from the inside, just that he suddenly felt fuller, like Nate’s knot would swell for a millisecond, then heat rushed through him and he’d have another dry orgasm. 

He was too comfortable with this. Too pleased to have Nate’s full attention, to have his thick sex pressed up into him, holding them closer than he’d been with anyone his entire life. He loved being tucked up against the alpha, to have his touch, and scent warming his body. 

Nate chuckled. It broke Eliot’s concentration on pretending he wasn’t actually there. 

Fuck. Who the hell was he kidding? Every breath he took reminded him of Nate’s presence. And now, he might actually love the smell of aged whisky and cedarwood. 

Nate chuckled. The vibration slid straight through Eliot’s chest, making his body vibrate with comfort that his alpha was happy. _No, not his alpha. Never his alpha._

“What’s the joke?” Eliot grumbled, trying for annoyed. Instead, he sounded too inquisitive. 

Nate propped up on his elbow, one lean leg sliding over Eliot’s to draw their lower torsos closer, not that the knot didn’t keep them pretty damn tight. He was certain he could feel the alpha’s pulse through his knot. “I can feel you shifting between your emotions.”

“And your conclusion?” Eliot swallowed, finding his throat suddenly dry. 

Nate sighed, kissing his shoulder. “It doesn’t matter what I think. You have a lot of soul searching to do now.” 

“I don’t do homework, Nate,” Eliot answered, relieved the alpha wasn’t going to jump into the subject. That was dead ground for both of them. Nate buried his emotions with whisky and Eliot buried his in FDA unapproved suppressants. 

He felt both disappointed and relieved when the knot deflated enough that the alpha slid out of him with a soft little pop. It followed a great deal of warm wetness. Eliot immediately stood, not wanting sperm to soak into his bed. He’d need plastic or pills to save the mattress, and everything inside him said it was a no brainer; he had to get back on his pills. 

He walked straight to his bathroom and shut the door, then turned the water on. The water hitting the tile drowned out the sound of Nate rustling around in his room. 

Eliot held onto the edge of the counter and focused on his breathing. Calling his lower muscles sore, was an understatement. He felt like the cement ground after it was jackhammered. Every muscle from his hips and down into his thighs felt like they held tiny fractures. 

Desire to do it again laid just beyond the pain. He let himself get fucked like an omega, and he liked it. He liked it a lot more than he knew he should. 

He got into the shower and diligently scrubbed a couple times over. The hot water combined with the near rawness of his skin did nothing to calm the fear rising at this discovery. He wanted to be Nate’s omega. He wanted to be Hardison, Sophie and Parker’s omega.

“Knock it off.” He growled. Even that sounded pitiful and his brain was hardly scared into submission. 

It kept whispering back; _I know the truth. I know you want this._

“I’m not the lumpsum of my gender. I’m in control. I’m in control.” It was a lie though. Wasn’t it?

He turned the water off and drip dried for a second, then took the towel and finished drying. His room smelled like both Nate and him. It instantly gave him a boner. His body knew what it wanted, even if his mind didn’t agree. 

Every layer of clothing gave him a shield. He loved the tight elastic of his black, low-rise briefs. The material cupped his cock and balls nicely. He pulled on a clean pair of jeans and shirt, his socks and then his shoes. He combed is hair and stared at himself in the mirror. 

Nothing outwardly changed. There wasn’t a big sign across his forehead that said; Omega. So why did he feel so strange?

The team was already deep into their Italian dinner when he joined them at the table. Other than Parker, no one outwardly stared at him. He could feel their sidelong glances, but when he looked, they turned their attention back to the mindless conversation on the merits of offshore accounts and databases that were a window into the darkest of the human mind. 

“I want my pills back.” It should have been more of a demand. Instead, it felt like a request. 

“No.” Nate took absolutely no pause before answering. Their leader picked up his coffee and drank as if the question had been something simple like; _have you had dinner yet?_

“Not your call, Nate. I want them back.” Not that he didn’t have a backup plan. He still had his contacts and there were tons of people willing to help an omega keep their truth safe.

“Those pills were illegal, and they made you sick. It would take one misstep and you could end up in a holding tank and pregnant before we got to you.” Nate turned to address him. His blue eyes looked so much darker when he was angry, though the anger didn’t radiate off him. 

Sophie was the first to stand, “Parker, could you help me clear the dishes.”

“Now? I want to see where this goes,” she whined. 

“Trust me, you don’t want to be a part of this showdown,” Hardison said, grabbing Parker’s arm and rising. 

Eliot felt the tension to the core of his being as they took the extra dishes, including Nate’s and his. The table was clear and the two of them were alone with Nate holding his coffee cup. That cup looked small with his fingers wrapped around it. It made him wonder how small his penis looked when Nate held it.

“You need me to protect you and the team. I can’t do that if I’m busy bending over for every alpha that smells good!” He kept his voice low, but not neutral. His anger burned through him and a large part of him was rattled that he even admitted to his larger fear that he’d be held captive by his omega side. 

“There are lower level suppressants that will keep you from being controlled by your instincts, but the narcotics you were on are no longer a viable option.” Nate held his ground.

Eliot shoved a hand through his hair. A small part of him whispered praises that the alpha who knot him was so domineering. Damn. He hated his omega self even more now. 

“Any other stupid demands Nate? Want me to wear a collar with your name on it when I’m out in public?” Anger was good. It burned his body clean of any docile behavior. 

Nate raised an eyebrow, remaining far too calm. The man was a step ahead. Eliot could practically see the gears turning behind his eyes, as if he were nothing but a computer opponent in a game of Scramble. “If you were my omega, yes. However, as the leader of this little group, I do have the right to put my foot down on anything I deem a liability. I want you to understand this Eliot, I’m not against you being on suppressants, but they will be a lower dose and you will start having your heats to help regulate your hormones.” 

Eliot jerked up from the table and moved into the sanctuary of his kitchen. He didn’t look at anyone present as he grabbed a dishtowel and threw it over his shoulders. It was all about the comfort of familiar motions. “Go. I’ll finish here.”

He stayed in the kitchen long enough to clean the dishes, counters, stove and oven top. He cleaned the sink again and then opened the fridge, determined to clean until his anger ran dry, but the stark white bulb showed clean glass with a very limited and clean supply of foods all within date. It was Sophie’s handwriting on the plastic marking tonight’s dinner by date, so they knew when to throw it away if it wasn’t eaten fast enough. 

There was nothing else to stay busy over, so he quietly made his way down the hall. The team’s voices were a mere, subtle hush of conversation. He pushed his shoulders against the wall and listened. 

This is how it started. 

It felt like years now, since he stood out here, with the wall at his back and the bag of army grade, foreign suppressants in his possession. He stood there debating how utterly insane a concept it was to go off them, just because Nate had gotten involved in a case that revolved around omegas. 

And yet he did it. Because he believed in Nate.

And now he was scared of that belief, because something in his stomach tightened when he thought of Nate holding him, touching him, loving him like they were mated. 

He swallowed hard and entered the room.

The pause in conversation lasted a second before Hardison continued. “You were right on two accounts, Nate; he has minions doing his dirty work and those minions have the lowest denominator in skillsets.”

Eliot took his seat between Sophie and Parker, glad to be on this side of the table again. He rubbed his sweaty palms against his pants, wondering if he smelled like himself, or a mixture of Nate. 

“Explain what his setup consists of.” Nate waved a hand at the 3D screen’s spiderweb of golden lines.

“I don’t have entail on the foreign traders. This won’t be enough to get the CIA or FBI involved. He’s been working this gig for decades and has successfully hidden his tracks.” Hardison glanced over at him, holding his eyes for just a second before, in a lower, sympathetic tone added, “You probably dodged a bullet, Eliot.”

“Men like this are fueled by greed and ego. The payout must be high, or it wouldn’t be worth the risk. Have you looked at offshore accounts? Can we trace the cell phones’ GPS?” An intensity weaved into Nate’s tone. 

“I need certain equipment. I can expedite it on Amazon, but who’s to say those two clowns downstairs won’t intercept the delivery?” Hardison said.

Eliot sat upright as his more aggressive instincts kicked in. “How long have they been staking out our location?” 

Hardison shrugged. “Since we got out of the clinic. I guess the good doctor trusted us about as much as we trusted him.”

“Or they’re really that desperate to get Eliot back,” Parker said. 

“I’ll take care of it. Which side of the building are they on?” He stood, feeling familiar with the aggression that took him. He liked punching things. It made him feel better. 

“Eliot, no!” Nate growled, standing from his chair too. Alpha anger filtered into the room. 

For one very brief second, Eliot felt his muscles tense, wanting to submit. Sheer willpower kept him on his feet and staring the alpha down. “This is my job, Nate. I handle this stuff. I’m not going to let us be held prisoner in our territory.”

“Eliot.” Every syllable of his name rolled from a deeply rooted growl. It was surprisingly sexy.

He stopped that thought immediately. “This is my profession, Nate. I can handle this.”

Nate was suddenly there, shoving him hard against the wall inches from the door he’d been about to walk through. There was more force in the action than he thought the lithe alpha was capable of. All his hard angles dug into Eliot.

“I give the orders, kid. I hope you didn’t already forget that.” Nate’s eyes bore into him. His words sounded final. 

Eliot should follow the command. He could feel it to the core of his being that he wanted to be _that_ disciplined, but he couldn’t break years at calling his own shots. “You’re going to stop me?”

That came out a little more breathily than he meant. Nate’s eyes darted to his lips. It surprised him how badly he wanted Nate to kiss him. What was wrong with his head? He’d never been this desperate before and yet, something about Nate, about his team, he wanted this. That scared the crap out of him.

“I call the shots Eliot. You agreed to this on day one.” Nate’s eyes fell to Eliot’s lips and throat. Something in his tone said he knew this situation far too well.

Slick and cum soaked through the fabric of his low-rise briefs. A line of the mixed liquid tickled down his inner thigh. Fuck.His.Life. This was ridiculous. 

 

oOo

 

“You think your battle-hardened? You’re that tough, Nate? You can control an ex-special op?” Eliot‘s eyes narrowed with the taunt, but his pupils were already dilated. Everything about his scent was neutral, until it wasn’t. 

Nate could smell his scent on the omega. He stared down at the pulse beating so rapidly against Eliot’s unmarked throat. “You don’t understand a damn thing about being an omega, do you?”

Eliot’s jaw clenched tight and he glared. “You plan on making this a teaching moment?” 

In all honesty, Nate wouldn’t want an omega a fraction easier to deal with. He loved Eliot. “I feel it’s necessary.”

“Nate—” Eliot started with a low, warning growl.

Nate spun his hitter around to face the wall and when no backlash occurred, he knew his hitter was not in his usual frame of mind. He kept one hand on the wall, boxing Eliot in. The other hand went to his side, feeling the leanness in his hip and the, hard, flat valley of his stomach. 

He drew Eliot’s hips back to feel his hard shaft. “Keep pressing the issue. I really want an excuse to put you over my knee and spank you red.” 

Eliot’s breath hitched. He dropped his head back against Nate’s shoulder, eyes already heavily. “My room.”

“No.” He worked both hands around Eliot’s torso, to pop his button and slide his zipper down. His hitter’s cock pressed hard against the thin fabric of cloth keeping it contained. If he reached lower, he would feel how wet the omega was. 

“The team.” Eliot protested a little too breathy and wanton. 

“You’re right. We are a team.” Nate brought his hand up, catching Eliot’s hair and gently forcing his head back to capture his hot mouth. 

Eliot groaned, pushing his hips back. Nate shifted his presence so Eliot couldn’t grind. This gained a frustrated growl from his hitter. “Nate!”

“Our first order of business will be patience.” Nate slid his thumb into the band of Eliot’s underwear, forcing it down as he slipped to his knees. 

Eliot cleaned deep, smelling mostly of soap and water, but no amount of cleaning had washed away the spicy cocktail of their mating. It was way up there, barely visible until Nate buried his nose between Eliot’s muscular, warm globes. Immediately, his omega channel gave way to slick and the musk of alpha sperm. 

“Such a needy little omega,” Nate teased, licking a long strip over Eliot’s hole, catching the mixture of their mating on his tongue. 

“Not here.” Eliot’s comment borderline a warning and a plea. 

Nate inwardly hummed and countered the comment with a bite that didn’t break his hitter’s skin. Eliot’s hand immediately slid between his thighs. 

“No, Eliot. You don’t give the orders,” Nate growled against the kid’s warm skin. 

Eliot shuddered with a breathy laugh. “You going to stop me?”

Hardison came up to their side before slipping under the arm Eliot had braced against the wall and faced the omega. “I will.”

Nate stared up at him before catching the subtle drift. This was good. He wanted the hacker to seal his dominance with Eliot. He was the only other one present that could take the rough hits if Eliot needed to be forcefully drawn back into an omega state of meditation.

The hacker cupped both of Eliot’s wrists in one of his large hands and reached inward, fondling their hitter. When Nate bent back down to his task, he could see Eliot’s fingers pressing and massaging Eliot’s balls. 

“Please,” Eliot whispered. The muscles in his thighs had gone tight and his hips started to rut upward into Hardison’s grasp. 

“Tell me what you want, baby. I’ll give you anything you ask for.” Hardison’s voice was a deep, low sound. 

Nate worked his finger into Eliot’s tight channel, feeling the constricted squeeze when their hitter tightened his muscles. While his hacker worked Eliot like a computer mouse, Nate pressed another finger into his young associate, wondering if he should warn Hardison or let the hacker figure it out himself, how painful knotting an ex-op could be. 

“Please. Please.” Eliot started begging louder. 

Hardison made a breathless, surprised sound, but from where Nate kneeled, he could only wager that Eliot might have bit his shoulder. A second later, the smell of omega spunk hit his senses. Eliot’s movements lost their rhythm as he let the hacker milk him. 

“Good boy. That’s a good, strong boy,” Hardison cooed softly into Eliot’s hair as he draped an arm around his hitter’s boneless body. 

Nate stood, licking the slick off his fingers. If he thought he could get away with it, he’d spend so much more time between his hitter’s legs. “Let’s get him to his space.”

Hardison picked Eliot up much easier than Eliot would want to know. In his quiet headspace, Eliot wrapped an arm around Hardison’s neck and nuzzled close. The gesture made their resident hacker stand a little straighter and gave him a strut to his step.

Nate was aware the ladies followed behind them as they entered Eliot’s room. The musk of sex still lingered in the air and he couldn’t help but breath it in as Hardison put Eliot on the bed. He immediately helped his hacker in undressing Eliot and to his surprise, Eliot didn’t fuss about it as he lifted his legs to help shimmy his pants off. 

Sophie stood by the window. “There’s two cars now. I think they are getting impatient.”

“Why put that much effort into getting an omega?” Hardison asked as he pulled his shirt over his head and kicked off his shoes before climbing into bed.

“This was the omega that got away and he’s untouched and unclaimed,” Sophie said. Her tone deadpan and suspicious. Her eyes never left the window as she stood just behind the curtain. 

“Not so untouched,” Parker said. Her eyes stayed on Eliot. Hard to say if she even blinked at this point as she took up roost on the edge of the bed, legs crossed and chin resting on her knuckles. 

 

oOo

 

Eliot quickly realized that he didn’t really have to _try_ not to focus on the conversation around him. Instead, his brain was hyper focused on the alpha in front of him and the very solid structure of the alpha behind him. He canted his hips back and was rewarded by Hardison scooting in closer, hips pairing with his. The alpha’s large hands slid around his hip bone. Those fingers were strong. 

Eliot tilted his head before he could even think about what he was inviting. The inner workings of his mind didn’t care and when the warm mouth started kissing along his shoulders, his heart beat in rapid session. 

Hardison’s jeans felt rough against his skin, but he could feel everything. And the alpha was big, like Nate big. Eliot opened his mouth to protest, but a wanton little growl escaped his mouth. This little voice in the back of his head that made him openly beg, wasn’t him at all…

The hacker chuckled and the baritone sound vibrated though Eliot’s back and into his chest. “I hear you baby boy. I know what’chu want.”

Eliot seriously doubted the hacker knew what he wanted when he didn’t know. A thousand witty insults filtered through his brain. He wanted to tell Hardison that he _wasn’t one of his girls_ and _he never joined that fan club,_ but his inner soul complained so loudly that it became a verbal protest of sound, when Hardison moved from the bed.

He wanted the alpha’s warmth. He wanted the thickness that pressed into his backside. He wanted….

No! This wasn’t him. 

Nate caught his cheek and lead him into a kiss. It quieted him down immediately as he scooted in, hand on Nate’s chest to ground himself. He sucked in deep breathes of the alpha he came to trust. 

“Is he okay with this?” Hardison asked. 

In the back of Eliot’s mind, he knew he should be angry that the question was directed over his head to Nate. The only real thing his brain decided to voice was his annoyance when the kiss was broken.

“As fine as he’ll let himself be,” Nate answered.

Hardison’s hands were on his hips, kneading his skin. Those same strong hands rolled him onto his stomach where they proceeded to knead at his lower back. It made his temperature so much hotter. He was aware of the warmth that tickled between his cheeks and down over his nuts. It reminded him of his designation and he almost didn’t care.

His hole felt so empty. “Hardison…”

“You can hold down the fort while I’m gone?” Nate sounded distant, like he left the bed.

That cleared a little of the fuzz in Eliot’s head. He blinked, trying to focus his vison. “Where…. Where are you heading Nate?”

And why without his hitter? Nate’s natural aggression, wit and passable hand-to-hand combat wasn’t enough to protect him. Alphas were durable, but he didn’t have the techniques. 

“Nothing to be concerned about. You need to focus on you.” Nate peppered his words with kisses. Eliot hated how he immediately folded. 

Fingers ….

He let Hardison, of all people, push his finger into his channel. That finger felt large, but the owner of said finger whispered gentle kudos that rolled over him like a feather. He arched his back, wanting more of that touch. 

“Nate, please be reasonable. What if you don’t come back?” Sophie whispered, but her words roared at the part of Eliot that remained a soldier, the protector.

“Nate, what are you—” his concentration broke for a second and he felt addled when the pleasure lifted enough for him to think. 

He became aware of two things, the conversation moved outside his room and Parker sat close. He could smell her soft, barely-there scent. She always smelled like the new equipment inside an auto-shop, clean unused rubber, WD-40 oil, metal.

Hardison’s finger rubbed over the same bundle of nerves and Eliot’s world spun with pain and pleasure. His breath caught and he was falling over the edge. He dug his nails into the bed, trying to stay focused, but it was impossible.

“I got’chu, baby boy. I got’chu. Ain’t gonna let you crash.” Hardison leaned over him, gently biting at his shoulder. 

“Mmm, I like the way you taste.” Parker laid on her side, facing him. He could barely see her through the fog that clouded his vision, but she smiled at him, finger in her mouth. 

When Eliot could breathe again, he felt boneless, and it was good. “How long do you uh…?” 

Hardison chuckled, licking a trail from his shoulder, to his neck. “Knot for?”

“Er…. Yeah.” Eliot focused on his breathing; long, deep breathes that filled his lungs and slowed his pulse. 

He could hear again. The front door slammed shut, cutting off a growing argument between Nate and Sophie. 

“My norm is about forty minutes, but I’ve maxed out over an hour before,” Hardison drew his teeth over his shoulder. Such a dark, alpha promise.

Eliot tried to shake the distraction. He tried to focus on the fact that they’d been talking about two cars outside watching their place. His mind only circled back to the body heat Hardison offered him. He focused on the hacker’s smell; fresh ink, smell of printed paper and alpha musk.

“I… I need your knot.” He wanted to hate himself for begging. He really wanted to hate himself, but he didn’t. 

He wanted this like he wanted beer with his hamburgers and wine with his fish. He wanted this like he wanted the comfort of his friends and the warmth of a friendly home in the dead of winter. God, he wanted this like he wanted to breath.

Hardison sighed against his shoulder, something that suspiciously sounded like; _thank you._

Eliot’s breath caught at the feel of the hacker’s cockhead. If it’d been any other situation, he’d tease the hacker for not being a complete nerd in all aspects. All jokes fell to the side as he tried to breath around the stretch of his muscles trying to accommodate the mammoth snaking its way into his body. 

Hardison peppered his shoulder with kisses as he adjusted their hips. Eliot became very aware that his face was again, down towards the sheets and he liked breathing in the scent that Nate had left earlier. He kept breathing it in as Hardison completely filled him. 

“Alpha. Alpha!” The words were instinctual. The smells of the alphas present flipped a switch that made him purr and beg. The feeling went from surface to soul deep.

The alpha’s knot pressed against his rim, thick like Nate’s had been thick. In a million years, he thought he’d never want this and now, despite the pain, there was something comforting about it; almost like finally being home. 

“Baby, you tight. My knot shouldn’t be getting caught yet.” Hardison shifted his hips, pulling out before pushing back in. The hacker’s knot pulled at his rim.

He growled, a warning for Hardison to shut up. It only earned him a deep chuckle and a light tap on his hip. Hardison kept a rhythm, smooth, long, tortured strokes in and out, reaching around to grasp Eliot in his large hands. 

“You gonna cum for me baby? You go’in make this room smell like omega spunk? I want to eat’chu baby.” Hardison’s filthy mouth was really getting him going. He needed the filth.

Eliot’s breath caught as he leaned his hips back. He wasn’t going to last, something that would be incredibly embarrassing if he were the one on top. Sex felt good, yes, but it wasn’t supposed to make a person completely lose their mind. 

Still…. He really didn’t care.

“Fuck! Fuck—”

The orgasm was liquid heat rushing through his pelvis and up his spine. It made his limbs jelly as he molded into the mattress and Hardison pushed faster. His movements lost their rhythm as he rutted, short movements that pushed his knot through the ring of muscle. 

“I’m going to ride you omega. Gonna put my babies in you. Gonna knock you up and make you fat as fuck with my pups.” Hardison continued. 

“Alpha—” He groaned into the mattress, unable to breath. 

Another liquid hot orgasm rushed through Eliot, stealing his breath as Hardison’s knot pressed hard against his prostate. The hacker’s long, thick cock stretched a path straight through him and when the alpha’s orgasm hit, it triggered another one within him, until he was chewing on the bed sheets to keep from screaming again.

God. He loved this way more than he thought he should. 

He needed this. He needed them and he honestly didn’t care what that meant.


End file.
